


Monster Hunts and Dates

by Firewhisperer13



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:55:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 34,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24738040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firewhisperer13/pseuds/Firewhisperer13
Summary: Y/n is a 17 year old who just moved to the strange and mysterious town of Gravity Falls, Oregon, pursuing a dream nobody believed in, monster hunting! Being as stubborn as she was, she didn't listen and began her new life. She soon discovers the town holds secrets too powerful for her, but soon discovers them with a certain Pine Tree hat wearing 17 year old. Sooner than Pine Tree, Bill jumps into her new life! Takes place five years after the show.
Relationships: Dipper Pines/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Gravity Falls, Here I Come!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! Just wanted to let you know that this story was actually a collaboration. Chapters 1-14 were written by a different author, who then passed the work off to me. If you want to give them some love (which I absolutely think you should!!!), they're @septicstache on Quotev!

Y/n's POV  
"But mom! You said it yourself! You said when I was a kid, I could be anything I wanted when I grew up!" I complained. "No butt's about it, y/n! Have you ever seen a monster yourself?" my mom retorted, but I just sighed. "Seeing isn't believing. Anyways, this is MY decision to make!" I argued back. I had done research about monsters and most of the cases had been false or just rumors. The most recent one I've looked at, though, talked about real sightings by a teenager by the name of Dipper who had dug deep into mysteries nobody believed him about. I always checked for new posts on his blog and most called the sightings fake, but I analyzed his pictures. Nothing was ever photo shopped, by the looks of it. "This blog isn't healthy for you to read," my mother sighed, placing her thumb and forefinger on the bridge of her nose and started rubbing it. It was a habit she did when she was disappointed or annoyed.   
  
"What'll it take for you to let me at least investigate this town?" I asked. I was not prepared for this answer, though. "If you go to investigate all these rumors, you can never come back to this house again!" my mother yelled while my father just sat on the couch reading his phone. I took a step back and tears stung my eyes. My mother never went that far.  
  
Y/n's mom's POV  
"If you go to investigate all these rumors, you can never come back to this house again!" I shouted at my daughter. She stepped back at my outburst and I could tell I upset her. I only said that to keep her from wanting to investigate the stupid rumors. I looked into her eyes and saw the face she made when she was upset or about to cry. I lifted my hand to my mouth and tried to give her a hug, but she just ran past me and ran up to her room. "Y/n, wait," I called, but she was already running up the stairs, her feet hitting the stairs hard. I sighed and followed her up. I heard her door slam shut, so I just went back to the living room, hating what I just said.  
  
Y/n's POV  
I jumped onto my bed, letting the tears flow out. I looked up to my window and waited for my tears to stop falling. On my desk was a piece of paper, offering me the chance to attend the college I wanted to go to for so long. I turned it over and grabbed a pen, writing a note with my tears staining the paper.   
  
When I finished, my tears stopped slipping and I quietly packed my bag, placing everything I would need. Clothes, toiletries, shoes, my phone, my journal, my headphones, water, snack bars, and all of my money. I opened my window, the cool summer breeze blowing my (hair/ponytail) towards my room, or what was my room. I climbed out and jumped to the ground, landing softly. I was used to heading out away from my room this way when my parents were mad, but I always came back. This time, I wasn't.  
  
Y/n's mom's POV  
I heard a window open, so I figured it was just y/n. She always did when she was upset. I always believed it was to get some cool air into her room, so I thought nothing of it.   
  
Once it was dark and y/n still hadn't come down for her dinner, I headed up the stairs and walked to her bedroom door. I opened the door to find the room empty. The drawers were empty, she was missing a bag, and her favorite tennis shoes were gone. I walked over to her desk to find her acceptance letter to college flipped over, showing a tear stained note in her handwriting. I picked it up and read:  
  
_Dear mom and dad,_  
_I left to give you what you wanted so I could continue my dream of monster hunting. I won't be back until I feel I should be, but that may not be for a while. I'm on my way to Gravity Falls as you read this, but please don't find me. I will try to find you when I'm ready. I wish you luck and hope for you both to enjoy your lives. I will write when I have arrived to this town and will inform you of what happens each day._  


_Love,  
Y/n_

I reread the note again, tears spilling from my eyes. My husband came up and read the note for himself as both of us mourned our daughter's departure. "It'll be okay," he kept repeating, but I knew he was just as heartbroken as I was.  
  
Y/n's POV  
I had been walking for about an hour and finally arrived at the bus stop, when the last bus of the day pulled up. The bus was dirty and rusty, but it was the only one that could get me where I needed to be right now. I ran as fast as my sore feet could carry me, just making it to the bus. "Hello, ma'm. I'm gonna need some ID," the bus driver responded. He looked to be a man in his mid thirty's under his tired wrinkles. I pulled out my student ID and handed him a twenty. He grabbed it and just stared at me. "Where to, then?" he asked. "Gravity Falls," I panted. "Take a seat, then. Gonna be a long ride," he replied. I nodded and found a seat in the back, landing down hard and pulling out (your favorite book), headphones, and my phone. I played (your favorite song) and began reading.  
  
Time skip  
I had finally finished my book after two long hours, feeling a bit drowsy. I grabbed a water bottle and took a few sips. I then grabbed a (favorite snack food) and ate it in about three bites. With my full stomach and still a couple hours to go, I took a nice long nap during the remainder of the time, falling into a peaceful slumber.  
  
Bill's POV  
I was floating just inside the perimeter of Gravity Falls, watching the bus containing a sleeping Petal drive closer to Gravity Falls. I had followed Pine Tree for a while, but he figured out how to keep me out. This girl may be the perfect distraction for him! He's picked up from Sixer's research and he's refused to even let Shooting Star join him. Very unlike the Pine Tree I first knew, but this change in his personality has peaked my interest. He's discovered factors that could have left the portal running smoothly, how to end my apocalypse in a quicker way, and he even found out how to keep me permanently out of the townsfolk minds. I still want to destroy him from his attempts to limit my power, but I am still marveled with how far he has gotten. Lucky for me, Petal may be the only one I can trick! I was starting to get desperate for a physical form again, but not quite desperate enough to take Pine Tree's again. Stupid noodle arms!   
  
The bus passed the town line, giving me the ability to get to Petal. I chased down the bus and made my way into the bus to look at her peaceful slumber. She was awoken when the bus hit a bump. She slowly opened her eyes to see the town sign, letting her know of her arrival. I vanished from the bus, heading to the forest.  
  
Y/n's POV  
I was finally at Gravity Falls! I was so excited to begin my own investigations of this town and to discover what it all meant. "Last stop, Gravity Falls! Everyone off!" the bus driver announced on the loud speaker. I stood up excitedly, grabbing all of my stuff and shoving them into my bag. The bus rocked a bit with every movement I made, throwing me off balance a few times. I told the bus driver thanks and gave him a kind smile, which he returned. "Oh! And I meant to give this back," he said, putting your twenty in your hands. "But-" I started, but he cut me off. "Trust me, you're gonna need it," he replied. "So, best course of action to take now is to find a map of the town. Find a decent enough place to stay for cheep and focus on how to get a good amount of cash to start up," he explained, pointing towards the stand of maps.   
  
"Thank you!" I replied cheerfully. He returned a smile and gave me a pat on the shoulders. "Good luck, then!" he said, closing the doors once I was off. I slid the bag over my shoulders and made my way over to the stand of maps. I pulled one out and looked it over, deciding to stop at Greasy's Diner, then take a walk through the forest. I pulled out my money, looked at the map again, then heading over to the diner. I turned around, just to accidentally run into somebody. "Oh! I am, so sorry! Uh-" I said, picking up a red journal with six fingers and handing it to the man, recognizing him right away. "Thank you!" he replied, grabbing the journal from my hand and shoving it into his sweatshirt.


	2. Dipper Pines

Y/n's POV   
"H-hi!" I awkwardly waved. "I know you!" I finally exclaimed, finally getting over my nerves. "I wish I could say the same about you!" he laughed, making me blush a bit. His laugh was a kind and gentle laugh, making his arms bounce a bit. His hands were shoved inside a dull blue sweatshirt covering up his arms, which appeared to have tattoos, a dull orange shirt underneath his sweatshirt, a blue and white hat with a blue pine tree on it, a brown backpack, black and white sneakers, and a dog tag with the words "Dipper Pines August 31st 1999" engraved on it, with a picture of a pine tree. "No, I mean that you're Dipper Pines!" I exclaimed, still excited that I was meeting a guy who I read all about. "Oh, you've read my blog?" Dipper asked, a gentle smile on his face.  
  
"Love it! Those people who call it fake are kidding themselves!" I laughed. "Thank you! Every time I walk by somebody outside this town, they keep calling me crazy! You wanna know crazy? An old guy named Old Man McGucket," Dipper exclaimed. I just kept blushing like an idiot.  
  
Dipper's POV  
I couldn't help but laugh around this girl. She was the first person from outside of the town that truly believed me. That's why I now took over the shack in the forest. "So, what's your name?" I asked, feeling my cheeks go a little red. I was glad Mabel wasn't here right now. She would have started making fun of me about my crush on this girl I didn't even know. I had bigger things to worry about, though. "Oh, it's y/n. Hey, where'd you get that book?" she asked, pointing at where I shoved the journal into my sweatshirt. It was really hot out, but I wasn't gonna show her any of those tattoos until I knew her better. "Oh, just, started keeping it when I started investigating this town," I lied. I was still upset about Stan and Ford and I just couldn't bring myself to tell the truth just yet.   
  
"So, want me to show you around the town?" I asked, trying to change the topic. "Actually, I was just about to head for Greasy's Diner. Last thing I had was a few hours ago and I need something other than a snack," she said, her stomach beginning to growl in agreement. "Want me to come with you?" I asked. "Sure! Could use a familiar face," she shrugged. Her h/l h/c hair brushed my cheek, causing some part of me to try and push its way to the surface, but I tried to shove it down again. "You coming?" she asked, turning around from about two feet around. "Y-yeah!" I called, snapping back to reality.   
  
Y/n's POV  
Gosh, I was blushing hard! I really hope he couldn't see it. I could feel my hair brush his cheek a bit, so I looked down real quick to hide my red cheeks and started walking faster. I looked up about a second later to realize he didn't move at all. "You coming?" I laughed. "Yeah!" he called, running a bit to catch up. "Where you from?" he asked me, but I just looked away while we kept walking towards the diner. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you," he said quickly, placing one of his hands on my shoulder. I looked over at him and sighed. "No, it's fine! Just don't want to talk about it yet," I said with a sigh.   
  
We kept walking in silence a bit until we made it to the diner. I realized I still had my bag, so I tried to shove it out of the way from people who were walking past us. He opened the door to the diner and I walked in, seeing how slow it was. "Not a very big town, is it?" I said, looking back at Dipper, who quickly pulled his sleeve back down. "Big forest, small town," he said, leading me to a booth by the door. When he sat down, his journal tumbled out again. This time, I picked it up and looked through it. It seemed so familiar from his blog, but... "Dipper, what's this about?" I asked, flipping to a page of what looked to be a piece of a blueprint.   
  
Dipper's POV  
I was looking at the menu, not noticing that Ford's journal fell out of my sweatshirt again. I was so used to slipping the journal in a pocket inside my old vest when I was twelve. Y/n picked it up and started flipping through the journal, but I was still a little slow on what she was looking at, then I realized the blueprints for the portal were still there. "Dipper, what's this about?" she asked, looking at the piece of Ford's blueprints. I reached out and yanked it out of her hand. She just raised an eyebrow towards me. "Come on, Dipper! You gotta be working on something!" she urged.   
  
"I-I can't tell you when I don't know you," I muttered, shoving the journal back into my sweatshirt. Y/n just started giggling a bit. "You wanna put it there again?" she laughed. I pulled off my brown backpack and shoved the journal in there. "So, what did you come to town for?"  
  
Y/n's POV  
"So, what did you come to town for?" Dipper asked. "Hello, Dipper! Who's your friend here?" a waitress with blue eye shadow with one eye closed, blue hair, and wearing her uniform asked. "I'm y/n. I just got here. And you are..." I asked. "Lazy Susan," Dipper responded. "Great to meet you, y/n! So, you two know what you want?" she asked. I looked over the menu, finding f/f. "I guess I'll have f/d and an order of f/f," I ordered. Dipper just ordered a Pitt Cola and some pancakes. "Coming right up!" Lazy Susan said, walking away.   
  
"How do you know her?" I asked with a laugh. He shrugged. "Knew her when I spent the summer down here in 2012. Interesting summer..." Dipper said, dazing off into space. I looked down at his arm, still covered by his sleeve. "So, I was wondering," I began, getting Dipper's attention. "What?" he asked thoughtfully. "You're a monster hunter and I'm trying to BE one," I explained. He just stared back at me. "Not the best idea. I lost a LOT to start this," he explained, leaning back into the cushioning of the booth.  
  
"I lost a good amount, too!" I exclaimed. Only then did I see everyone staring at us the entire time. I leaned back into the seat as well, blushing a bit from embarrassment. "I understand you may have lost a lot, but I gained something I didn't want to have," Dipper whispered, leaning across the table. "If I told you what I lost, will you tell me about your losses and the gains you've had?" you asked, leaning forward as well.   
  
"Here's your food!" Lazy Susan said, setting down a plate of f/f and a glass of f/d in front of me. She took off Dipper's pancakes from her tray and a glass of Pitt Cola and set them in front of Dipper. "Enjoy!" Lazy Susan said loudly, walking away and leaving me and Dipper at the table with our food and drinks. I took a bite of f/f and soon pretty much inhaled the food and my drink. Dipper was just taking a bite of his pancakes. "You must have been hungry," he laughed, taking a sip of Pitt Cola. "To be fair, the last thing I had was a snack and I was asleep for a few hours," I said defensively. "So, is it a deal?" I asked, reaching out my hand, but he just backed up a bit, looking at me.  
  
Dipper's POV  
"So, is it a deal?" y/n asked, extending her hand towards me. I looked at it quickly and looked back into her e/c eyes. There were no hints of yellow and her pupils were normal, so I just shook my head. "Sorry, just a little uneasy," I said, looking at my left arm. It looked normal. "Let's eat, then we can explain it back at my house," I responded, beginning to eat my pancakes again and taking an occasional sip of Pitt Cola.   
  
I finished after a couple silent minutes. Lazy Susan came by and I handed her a few twenty's, then stood up and headed out the door with y/n right behind me. "So, you have your own house?" y/n asked me after a little. "Sort of. It was my uncles' house, but they left it for me," I explained, not wanting to discuss it out in the open.   
  
Y/n's POV  
I kept quiet after that and just focused on the path in the forest. I soon saw a shack come into view. "This where you live?" I asked, pointing to the broken down shack. "Yeah. Home sweet home," he said, walking towards the building. "Mystery Hack?" I questioned, noticing the sign. Dipper laughed a bit. "That's what my Grunkle Stan called it. Was a way to get easy money while he was here. I still haven't found time to get rid of it. Tourists keep coming, so I occasionally do something for them for a bit of extra cash. I see why he had done that now," he said, nodding at the wooden shack. "Grunkle Stan?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows.   
  
"Yeah! My Great Uncle! He preferred Grunkle, though," he shrugged. "Anyway, let's go inside," Dipper said, gesturing to the door. I followed him inside. It was nice enough for being an old shack. We entered the gift shop where there were a bunch of cheap knick-knacks at high prices on shelves. He led me into the living room next, pulling a chair out from the round table and sitting down. I sat at the chair across from him.  
  
"So, let's just get to it then. Where are you from?" he asked me, leaning back into the chair. "Y/c," I answered simply. "That had to be a long time! Why are you here?" Dipper asked, leaning forward. I just shrugged. "My parents didn't believe in my ambition for monster hunting, so I left and got on the bus to get here," I simply said. "Could you go back? This is gonna get dangerous," Dipper replied. "Not gonna happen. I don't want to go to college to not do something like this. Now, come on! What did you lose and gain?" I asked, leaning on my elbows.   
  
Dipper's POV  
"Oh, fine!" I laughed. "First, I'll tell you what I gained, then I'll show you my lose," I began. I grabbed the third journal and flipped to the page about Bill. She pulled the book close to her, reading to herself. "So, is this what you gained? Dangerous knowledge of this town?" she asked. "No. This," I said, yanking up my left sleeve.   
  
Y/n's POV  
"No. This," Dipper said, pulling up his left sleeve to reveal his tattoo to me. His tattoo was a symbol of the demon himself with a wheel of symbols around him. "What the-" I whispered, pulling his arm closer and trying to figure it out more, raising my thumb over it and...  
  
Dipper's POV  
I yanked my arm away from y/n quickly, worried she would touch it. "DON'T!" I shouted, pulling the sleeve back down. "What happens if I touch it?" she questioned. "He-nothing. It still stings," I lied. She didn't seem to believe me, but she didn't push it. "Now," I breathed. "Let's show you my lose," I said lightly, standing up. She did the same.  
  
Y/n's POV  
Dipper led me back to the gift shop, walking over to the vending machine. "Hungry?" I asked. He turned back and forced a sincere smile. "Not exactly," he said, turning his attention back to the machine and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards it. "If you want to know about the beings of Gravity Falls and the supernatural side of things, you may want to know the mistakes made before you make them," he said, hitting the buttons 'A,1,B,C,3'. The machine opened, revealing a staircase down to an elevator.   
  
"Let's start from the beginning."


	3. Secrets

Y/n's POV  
"Dipper? Where are we going?" I asked, gripping his hand tighter. "Well, there's something you should know about," was all he said, pressing the button to the third floor. The elevator opened, so Dipper tried to step inside. My feet wouldn't move. "Aren't you coming?" he asked, a gentle smile on his lips. "Where are we going? What aren't you telling me?" I asked, ripping my hand out of his. His eyes had a glint of sadness in them. "Plenty. There's plenty I haven't told you, y/n. The only way I can tell you all of them is for us to trust each other," he said, reaching for my hand again. I pulled it back farther. "The journal. It said not to trust anyone," I said, looking away. He sighed. "Yes, it does. I lived by that and that was part of my mistake," he said.   
  
I sighed. "Why can't you tell me the secret?" I asked. "It will only make sense if you see it as well as hearing the story behind it," he replied, stepping into the elevator. I followed. The doors closed, dropping us to the third floor. "Why is it so easy for you to tell me?" I asked. "You're the only one who believes me. I need a partner to help me with my mistake and you're the only person I can trust with this. The only person who would be willing to help just wants something from me that I don't want to fulfill," he said. The door then opened, revealing what looked to be a lab. A gasp escaped my lips.   
  
Dipper's POV  
"This was my Great Uncle Ford's lab. He was working on something he had no idea would result in catastrophe, so he only thought of it as his greatest achievement. But, the person who would be willing to help me tricked him, only having him build it for his own needs. His needs aligned with what we never wanted: an apocalypse," I began. "So, Ford destroyed it, but there was a rift that did what the person wanted, so we tried to seal it. Somebody I knew didn't know they had it and handed it to him, so he destroyed the containment, releasing the rift. We were able to stop it, but I lost that person in the process. Ford tried everything he knew to get her back, but this was the only option. I began its reconstruction without his knowledge. Him and my Grunkle Stan were getting older, so they passed away by natural causes. I can't seem to figure it out quite yet, but I can with your help! It took Stan thirty years, but I need it done sooner. Ford took a few nights with that person's help, but I refuse for his help. Can you guess who that person is?" I asked.   
  
Y/n just kept staring at it, stepping towards the curtain. I ran over to her and pulled her hand away. "Just, promise me you'd never tell him about this," I said, yanking my sleeve down to show the tattoo, careful not to touch it. "Okay. But what's behind the curtain?" y/n asked, jabbing her thumb back to the curtain. I sighed. "This," I said, pulling down the curtain to reveal the portal in tact, but not functional. "How does it work?" she asked, taking a step toward the room. "Toxic waste. I don't have a way to get it legally," I said, shrugging my shoulders.  
  
Y/n's POV  
The same boy I always admired for everything he had seen and how he handled it turned out to be a teen my age who wanted to become a criminal. "Dipper, why is this portal so important to you?" I asked. He sighed again. "Because it took someone important from me. Do you know who this is?" he asked, grabbing a picture frame of what looked to be him as twelve years old and a young girl who looked similar to him. Same nose, same color hair, and same eyes. "No. She looks similar to you, though," I said, still staring at the picture. He pulled it back and gently set it on the desk where it was before. "That's because that girl is my twin," he said sadly, looking towards the portal.  
  
I was speechless. "What happened?" I finally asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He sighed and turned to face me. "Let's go in here. I'm paranoid that it's better to talk in there," Dipper said, grabbing my hand and placing his other on a scanner by the door. It slid open, revealing the portal and what looked to be the manual override. He sat on a piece of the portal and sat me down. "Installed that scanner when Ford passed. Thought it was safer. Maybe I'll install your hand print into the system," he mused. "Okay, start from the beginning," I said to Dipper.  
  
"All right. It all began in the summer of 2012..."


	4. Backstory

Y/n's POV  
He explained his entire summer to me. Every bit of it. "After we were able to stop Bill, I put this reminder to never trust him again. Unfortunately, I shouldn't of done that. He was able to get to me from the tattoo and he attempted to make another deal with me. He eventually was able to fool me again, but that was because he still had limited power in this world," he continued with a sigh. "In that second deal, he pulled me out of my body again and tried reactivating the portal for another rip to the Nightmare Realm. I got my body back, but my twin Mabel was down there to help. We were able to shut it down, but Mabel pushed Bill inside the portal. He grabbed her sweater and pulled her in with him. I began rebuilding this after the incident and the journals helped. They had been destroyed, but Ford was able to record them from memory," Dipper finished.  
  
I was speechless. "But, who was the third key? You said there were three switches," I pressed on. "Mabel had one, I had the middle, and I just reached across. I couldn't risk anyone else's safety, so I refused for Ford's help. My sister kept pushing, wanting to try and make things right after the apocalypse began. It was already cracking, but she thought she was responsible for it. I didn't blame her, since she didn't know about it, but she didn't listen," he said sadly.   
  
"But I need some help. I really shouldn't be trusting a stranger, but I need my sister back," he said, turning to face me. "O-of course!" I stuttered. "I do have to warn you that it is dangerous. My Grunkle Stan almost got arrested for it and he still almost lost his brother! But that was my fault," he sighed. "Dipper, everyone makes mistakes!" I said, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I wish Mabel had known that when she convinced me to let her help me," he laughed harshly.   
  
"We WILL get her back! If this was opened before, then it can be opened one more time," I reassured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up sadly, but his frown curled up into a gentle smile. "Now stop feeling sorry for yourself! We aren't gonna get Mabel back by sulking!" I said sternly. His face went strict. "You're right!" He said firmly. "Mabel needs us!"   
  
Dipper's POV  
"So, where do we go from here?" y/n asked. "I just need to cross a few wires, then get the toxic waste," I said calmly to her. She raised an eyebrow to me. "Why do you sound so calm about doing all of this?" she asked, growing angry by the tone of her voice. "Because I need her back!" I shouted, shaking y/n. "I-I need my twin. I can't go against Bill without her and he's after me!" I said, my eyes becoming blurry. She stepped towards me, her own eyes started shining a bit. She grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. "You're not alone on this," she cried near my ear. I could feel tears on my jacket. She pushed away and faced me. "I can tell how important this is to you, but how are you just going to steal toxic waste?" she questioned, clearing her face of tears.   
  
"Simple! With this!" I said, pulling out the mind erasing gun from my bag. "What's that?" she asked, looking at it closely. "a mind erasing gun! If anyone sees me, just aim and fire!" I laughed. She stepped back. "Inside joke. Had to use this a few times to get out of a jam," I shrugged. She relaxed a bit. "Anyway, let's see what we can get done!" I said, walking past her.   
  
Y/n's POV  
He walked into the room with the portal, kneeling down in front of a panel. I was eased a bit, but still a little worried. My phone buzzed. I pulled it out and saw my mom's number. I answered it. "Hello?" I asked. "Oh, hello Pe- I-I mean y/n!" my mom's voice came through. "Uh, hi mom! What are you up to?" I asked a bit awkwardly. "Oh, nothing! Just found your note and wanted to wish you luck! You hadn't written yet," she said sadly. "Oh, uh-I-uh..." I stuttered. "I may not write much. I met Dipper Pines and it's all true! I also found something... interesting..." I said nervously. "Oh! Well, what did you find?" she asked. "Can't talk about it," I sighed. "Y/n! My face is on fire!" Dipper shouted. "Gottagobye!" I said quickly before hanging up.  
  
Bill's POV  
"Blast that Pine Tree! I got lucky when the force field to keep me out went down, but now he put it up again and I can't get to him! Might as well leave this meat sack..." I flew out of my vessel.  
  
She looked around frantically, dazed until she saw me. "W-what are you?" she stammered. "And where's my daughter!" Petal's mother exclaimed. I sighed in annoyance at the woman. "You already forgot our deal?" She was confused, I could tell. "I let 'you' talk to your daughter and I get something!" I exclaimed, getting agitated at the woman. "Where is she then? When do I talk to her?" she said frantically. "You DID! You already forgot that too? Anyway, you still owe me something..." I said, hoping that I could still get this. "What is it?" she asked, fear in her voice. "Oh, just **NO GOING TO GRAVITY FALLS!"** I exclaimed, watching her shrink in fear. My eye curled up in it's usual smile.   
  
"Glad we're at an understanding! I've got big plans for Petals and I don't need her to have any more distractions than Pine Tree! He's the only distraction she needs," I laughed. "Who's 'Petals' and 'Pine Tree'?" she asked. "No time to explain! And remember: Reality is an illusion; the universe is a hologram; buy gold; BYE!" I said quickly, vanishing back into Gravity Falls.   
  
Y/n's POV  
"Dipper! Are you okay?" I asked, sliding into the room with the portal. "Oh yes, I'm fine! I just said that to make sure you'd come in here quickly!" he said, turning around to show his face emitting smoke. "But, your face is smoking..." I said, pointing at his left cheek. "Yeah, just an activation mishap. And by that, I mean I accidentally turned it on and it sparked, hitting my face," he said simply. "Okay then," I shrugged, coming over. "I need you to connect those two wires right there," he said, leaning on the panel. I did as I was told, it sparking and coming close to contacting my skin. "May wanna wear these," he said, handing me a pair of gloves. I slipped them on, repeating the process until I heard the machine roar to life.   
  
"What now?" I asked. "That's it for today! I'll get the toxic waste tomorrow while you keep it steady," he said, gesturing to the buzzing portal. "Okay. Anything planned for tonight?" I asked, walking to the elevator with him. "None. Especially since I just met you," he said simply. "Wanna go on a monster hunt?" I asked. Dipper stood straighter at the mention of a monster hunt. "Sounds great! Which one you wanna go for? A gremloblin? Gnomes? Barf fairies?" he asked frantically, pulling out his journal, flipping through the pages. "Which one's the best for beginners?" I asked.  
  
Dipper's POV  
"Hmm..." I pondered. "Maybe gnomes? I started with that," I answered. "But, they kidnapped my sister to be their queen. Maybe not that one..." I said, flipping through them again. "Unicorns?" I asked, pulling out the first journal and finding the page. "Whoa, I didn't know you had ALL the journals!" she marveled. "Didn't until Ford came out of the portal," I shrugged. "So, why are unicorns monsters?" she asked. "I don't know! My twin, Mabel, went to get unicorn hair with her friends to keep Bill out, then she came back all bruised and messy. They gave them treasure to get rid of them, but I never got the full story. She did talk in her sleep about a 'scam', but I never got the details," I shrugged.   
  
"Well, fighting a unicorn does sound fun as a beginner, so let's do it!" y/n said, punching a fist into her other palm. I laughed. "Okay then! Go get a bag together for you and I'll pack mine!"


	5. Monster Hunt!

Y/n's POV  
I rushed into the living room, grabbing my bag. "So, where am I staying?" I asked Dipper, all my stuff in hand. "Well, I preferred taking my Grunkle Stan's room, since it was the main room. You can either have the attic or my Great Uncle Ford's room. Which one?" he asked, grabbing my bag out of my hand. "Let's go with your Great Uncle Ford's old room," I responded. "Okay. Follow me," he said, leading me down a hallway on the right side of the stairs, leading me to a door with intricate carvings in red wood with a gold doorknob. He opened the door, revealing a dusty room with a few cobwebs, but all in all, it was a nice enough room. There was a couch over on the right side of the wall, a dresser on the opposite wall, shelves, a bathroom, a lamp, and a window. I set my bag down on the floor and walked around a bit. "Sorry it's so messy. Nobody really stays here," he apologized. "It's fine! I can clean it up," I nodded, looking around the room.  
  
Dipper's POV  
"Want some help?" I asked, setting down y/n's bag I was holding for her. "Thanks! Where's the vacuum?" she asked. I pointed a finger to the hallway. "Hall closet upstairs by my room. I'll go get it!" I said, heading out the door and up to the closet.  
  
Y/n's POV  
Once he left, I turned on the lights and the bathroom lights. Finding a feather duster in a drawer of the dresser, I began dusting off the room a bit, ridding it of dust. "Found the vacuum! Hidden behind my uncles' old junk," he announced. "Thanks," I laughed, taking it from his hand. "No, you unpack and I'll vacuum!" Dipper laughed, taking the vacuum back. "Fine," I shrugged, but I flashed a smile. Grabbing my bag off the floor, I placed it on the couch and pulled out the contents, placing my clothing in the drawers, toiletries in the bathroom, and everything else on top of the dresser. As I arranged everything to my liking, I heard the vacuum run. Turning to face Dipper, he looked up and flashed a smile at me, which I returned.   
  
He turned off the vacuum. "Got your bag ready?" "No, only got the giant duffle-bag. Do you have a backpack?" I asked. "Yeah. One in my room. I'm done with the vacuum, so let's go pack!" he said enthusiastically. "Great!" I smiles, swinging my arms. "Let's go," he said, leading the way to the stairs. "Bags are in the attic,' he huffed, not sounding as happy. Dipper opened the door to the attic, which, surprisingly, wasn't that messy for an attic and bigger than I expected. There were two beds, one on each side of the room, a closet, and one part of the room was where all the junk was, including a giant pawn. "Bigger than I expected," I marveled aloud. "Used to sleep up here during the summer. This was mine and Mabel's room," he explained.   
  
Dipper's POV  
I took a step towards Mabel's side of the room, feeling around. She's only seventeen and she's going through what Ford did, but he prepared himself for what was on the other side. Mabel only had a crash course going on adventures with me. "Bill," I scoffed. Y/n walked up next to me. "It'll be okay," she soothed, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Besides, how bad can this 'Bill' be? I mean, he's not at full power and we know how to handle him!" she continued. "You don't get it, y/n," I laughed grimly, shaking my head. "Then explain," she responded.  
  
"He's a trickster! The portal was created because he tricked Ford into building it for him. Then he threatened my family's lives! I don't want you in danger, but I need help to save my sister!" I shouted, shaking y/n by her shoulders. "Dipper, calm down! You're so close! Maybe we should go on the monster hunt to get your mind off things," she laughed, grabbing my hands and keeping them held. "You're right," I sighed, pulling away. I walked over to Mabel's bed, grabbing her bag off of it and tossing it to y/n. She caught the bag and slid it on her shoulders. "I'm going to go pack," she said, heading to the door. "Be down in a minute," I called over to her.  
  
I heard the pounding of stairs, letting me know y/n was going to pack. I put my hands on Mabel's bed, hovering over it. My tears started coming out after so many years of holding it in. I refused to cry, but our birthday was coming around the corner. "Another year without my twin. How could I even consider staying here when she would need me. When I need her," I sniffled. My tears all landed on her bed, staining the covers. "This is all my fault," I growled. I punched her bed, furious at myself. "What did I do to you?!" I exclaimed louder. My mind wandered back to y/n. I still have the monster hunt. But, what about Bill?  
  
Y/n's POV  
I walked down the hallway to my bedroom, Mabel's bag in my hands. I walked in the door, grabbing everything I would need. Walking over to the couch, I found Journal 3 lying there. I picked it up, flipping through it. "Hmm? 'Beware Bill. The most powerful and dangerous creature I've ever encountered. Whatever you do, don't let him into your mind,'" I read aloud. The picture was a shadowy triangle with one eye, black limbs, and a bow tie. "Y/n? Watcha reading?" Dipper's voice asked me. I looked up in fright and shut the journal. "Just... looking," I answered. "Looking for what?" he asked, sitting on the couch next to me. "Nothing in particular," I shrugged. "Ready then? You can hold onto that, if you'd like," Dipper said, standing up and grabbing his bag.  
  
"Sure. Let's go!" I said enthusiastically, shoving the journal into the bag and jumping up. "So, how do we find them?" I asked, heading down the hallway with Dipper. He hesitated opening the door, but finally did as he answered. "The magic part of the forest. We'll find a field with rocks carved with symbols. It'll just be a lot of walking." We stepped outside the shack, making our way into the forest. The deeper we went, the thicker the trees grew.   
  
~Time skip  
  
I looked up in the sky, finding it growing darker. "I didn't realize the girls had to walk _this_ far!" Dipper laughed. The night breeze blew over me, causing me to chatter my teeth. Dipper looked over at me, noticing me shiver. "Oh! Here..." he exclaimed, slipping off his sweatshirt and placing it on my shoulders. "Probably should've grabbed another one for you," he smiled guiltily. I looked over at his arms, reminded of the demon. He noticed me looking at them and he just out them behind his back. "I-it's f-fine!" I chattered, pulling the sweatshirt under my chin tightly. "A-aren't you c-cold?" I chattered after a few more minutes of walking. "Na, not really," he shrugged.   
  
Dipper's POV  
We kept walking a little longer as I tried different ways to hide my arms every once in a while. I couldn't stand the fact about my Bill tattoos. In the summer, I never sweat and I wear a sweatshirt. I could run around the town naked during winter and I wouldn't be cold. It felt too... unnatural. I put my arms out in front of me, staring at my tattoos for a while. Y/n caught me looking at them. "Dipper, are you okay?" she asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. It started going down to the tattoo again. I looked up and gasped, seeing Bill's Weirdmageddon flash in my eyes. I pulled my arms away, putting them behind my back. "S-sorry," I tried to apologize. She just shrugged it off and looked at the path again.   
  
_What do you have planned, Cipher?_  
  
Y/n's POV  
As the sun set over the trees, enveloping the forest in darkness, we approached the field with the rock formation. "Here we are! Now, according to Ford, 'the only way to summon the unicorns is to bellow this ancient chant droned only deepest voice druids of old.'" Dipper read aloud. "Let me give it a try!" Dipper said, stepping towards it. To me, it just sounded like nonsense, but his voice was a little high pitched. "Well, that was embarrassing," he murmured, rubbing the back of his head.  
  
Dipper's POV  
"Well, that was embarrassing," I muttered, rubbing the back of my head. I could feel my cheeks going red. Her usual cheerful laugh jingled behind me, making my face grow hot with embarrassment. "Let me give it a try!" she giggled, grabbing the book from my hand. I listened as her usual tone dropped down to the deepest voice I had ever heard from her. As she finished the ground began to tremble and the rocks were being raised by a raising ground, revealing a set of golden double doors with gems and flowers decorating the wall. "Not too bad for a newbie, huh?" she laughed, elbowing me in the side playfully.  
  
She approached the doors and shoved them open. I jogged up next to her, finding the place full of butterflies, rainbows, a waterfall flowing into a roaring river, mushroom, colorful plants, and the unicorn laying atop a rock in front of the waterfall. "Hark! Visitors to my realm of enchantments!" the unicorn sang, her horn glowing and whipping her mane to face me and y/n. "Wow," y/n breathed out in awe. "What's your name?" she asked, stepping closer. "I am Celestabellebethabelle! Last of my kind!" she announced. "Come in! Come in! Just, take off your shoes!" she said, nodding the two of us in. I obliged, just as y/n did the same.   
  
"What are we gonna get from her?" y/n whispered, slipping off her shoes. "Unicorn hair," I whispered back, pulling off my own. "It's great to meet you," y/n greeted, extending a hand. I walked up next to her. "Why have you come to my realm of enchantments?" the unicorn questioned, on her hooves. "We've come for some of your magical hair," y/n answered respectfully. "Very well! To receive a lock of my enchanted hair, step forth, human of pure, perfect heart!" the unicorn declared, her mane flowing in the wind.   
  
Y/n looked over at me, a bit confused. I nodded with a small wink. She winked back, stepping towards the sunlight leaking into the place. "WHAT?! You?! A unicorn can see deep withing your heart! And you have done wrong. WRONG, I SAY!" the unicorn declared, meeting her eyes at y/n. "How so?" she questioned, hands on her hips. I smiled, impressed with her abilities.  
  
Y/n's POV  
"How so?" I questioned the unicorn. I remember skimming through the journal and I had put together on why Mabel talked about a "scam" in her sleep. I didn't plan on this hoof-bag getting the best of me. "Well-you-I-uh..." she stuttered. "Well, what have I 'done wrong?'' I questioned, using air quotes and raising an eyebrow. "I... uh... I... uh..." the unicorn stuttered again. "'I... uh... I...' Do it, liar! Do some 'brilliant' scam that knocks me down right now! Whatdaya got, hoof-bag? We're both waiting! DO IT!" I shouted.  
  
Dipper's POV  
As I listened to y/n shouting at the unicorn, my smile dropped. I felt a little bad doing this to Celestabellebethabelle now. Looking over at y/n, I started seeing a yellow glow around her like Bill's. I hated thinking of her a Bill, but it was just the was she was yelling at Celestabellebethabelle. It reminded of me when I tried to stand up to Bill, but I could only think y/n as Bill and Celestabellebethabelle as me. My guilt started to fade a bit when I realized that y/n wasn't trying to sound like Bill. Now, I'm even more worried of y/n helping me. It's too big a risk on her meeting Bill now.  
  
"Okay, fine! So you know our kind's secret! We're liars, okay? We have more hair than we know what to do with and we keep it to ourselves just to tick you humans off! What are you two lovebirds gonna do about it? Huh? Huh?! What are you gonna do?!" the unicorn gloated. Y/n's hand was clenched into a fist, then she let it swing right into the unicorn's snout, causing rainbow colored snot drip out of her nostrils and drip off y/n's fist.   
  
"Oh, so it's a fight you want! Well, then it's a fight you're gonna get!" Celestabellebethabelle shouted, clearing her snout of rainbow snot. "Guys, get in here!" she shouted. Just then, a blue unicorn and a pink unicorn came out. "Guys, THEY'VE LEARNED OUR SECRET! ATTACK!" Celestabellebethabelle shouted. The other unicorns nodded, aiming their horns at the two of us. "Oh, we're not leaving without some of your hair!" y/n shouted with glee at the unicorns.   
  
"Y/n..." I tried getting her attention. "What?" she asked, still facing the unicorns, ready to fight. "Never mind. We'll talk later," I sighed, walking next to her. She slid off my sweatshirt, dropped it on the ground, pulled off her bag, and got in a fighting position. I slid off my own bag and got in a fighting position as well, my fists clenched. We charged at the unicorns, them doing the same. Raising my fists high, I slammed it down on the blue unicorn's head, right behind the horn. I guess I hit a sweet spot, since it just dropped down unconscious. I kicked him for good measure, figuring out it was down.  
  
Y/n's POV  
The pink unicorn pinned me on the ground, head down to level with my face, horn pointed at me, and his hooves holding down my wrists and ankles. I looked over at Dipper, noticing how the blue unicorn went down. I put my attention back at the pink unicorn and grinned. I headbutted the unicorn, throwing him off balance. I slammed my hand down behind his horn, knocking him to the ground. I grinned and looked over at Dipper, seeing him wrestling with Celestabellebethabelle. His hands were on her hooves, trying to push her away, but her back hooves dug into the ground. I ran over to them, tackling her to the ground. I grabbed her mane and yanked out a handful. She screamed in agony.  
  
I slammed my hand behind her horn, knocking he unconscious. I pulled myself up, noticing my ripped clothing, my tangled hair, and my clothes filthy with mud, grass, dirt, and some unicorn blood and tears. "Whew! That was fun!" I cheered, waving around the unicorn hair.   
  
Dipper's POV  
I looked over at y/n, noticing how much of a wreck she looked after the unicorn fight. I looked down at my own, noticing my orange shirt and pants torn and dirty. I walked over to our bags and tossed y/n her's. She shoved the unicorn hair and my sweatshirt into the bag. As I grabbed my bag, I noticed a strange yellow glow from my arm. My eyes opened in fright and I tried backing away, but it was my tattoo. I couldn't run from that. "Y/n, we gotta go," I whispered. "What?" she asked. "NOW!" I shouted, grabbing my bag. I ran out with y/n at my heels. "Dipper, what are we running from?!" she panted. I noticed her slowing down, so I grabbed her wrists and pulled her along with me. "Come on, not now!" I groaned, picking up the pace.  
  
I shouldn't have been pushing either of us so hard. My legs were burning, my throat was dry, and every bone in my body was urging me to stop, but I pressed on. "Dipper!" she shouted, pulling my arm back to stop me. "WHAT?!" I snapped, turning to face her. "Dipper, what are we running from?' she asked firmly. "Can I explain later?" I asked frantically. Now that I stopped, I couldn't start running again.   
  
Y/n's POV  
"Can I explain later?" Dipper asked quickly. "But why are we running?" I pressed on. My gaze wandered to his tattoo, noticing a yellow glow fading away. "Is it something about that?" I asked, pointing at the tattoo. His eyes grew in even more fight. "We gotta go," he whispered, looking at the tattoo. "Okay," I panted, not refusing now. He was still standing there, leaning on a tree. I grabbed his wrist this time and started pulling him down the path and getting closer to the shack. "We're almost there!" I exclaimed, looking over at Dipper. He looked up, eyes wide. "But we're too late," he said fearfully. "What do you mean?" I asked, stopping.   
  
"He's here," he groaned, leaning against a nearby tree. "Where?" I asked, but a voice answered for me. "Right here, Petals!" a strange voice echoed through the forest. I backed away into Dipper, still leaning on a tree. I stumbled over, falling into him. He caught me and I turned my attention over to the stranger. "Who are you?"


	6. Bill Cipher

Y/n's POV  
I grabbed onto Dipper's shirt, feeling like it was my lifeline. A stranger just came out of nowhere and the only person I knew who can deal with someone or something like this was just as scared as I would. "Pine Tree, relax! I'm not gonna hurt you! You're doing exactly what I need and I'm glad you found someone!" the stranger laughed. My vision seemed to be going a little blurry from dehydration and a lot of running, but the stranger looked like a floating triangle with a black top hat, a black bow tie, black limbs, and his body was a bright yellow, glowing brighter with every word he announced.  
  
I looked around a bit, noticing my surroundings became a dreary shade of gray, except for me, Dipper, and this creature. Suddenly, my mind went back to the journal and Dipper's tattoo. "B-Bill?" I uttered, still in shock. "Glad you know me, Petals! I sure know you!" he laughed. "What are you doing here?" Dipper asked, standing up straight now. I got off and stood next to him. "I can't visit my old puppet?" the demon asked with sarcasm. "Not under these certain circumstances, no," he shot back, arms across his chest.   
  
"Okay, you caught me! I wanna make a deal!" he laughed.   
  
Dipper's POV  
"Are you desperate? You know as well as I do I'd never make any sort of deal with you!" I shouted at him. "Oh, calm down, Pine Tree! I thought you knew me better than that!" he laughed. I reached out my hand and grabbed y/n's hand, pulling her closer. I wanted to know she was there. I _needed_ to know she was there! I knew Bill better than I'm sure Ford ever knew him! He's been around for a trillion years, so he's got every trick ever known. "Come on, kid! You know that's not gonna help your case!" he laughed, snapping his fingers.  
  
My hand felt empty. I turned my head, seeing y/n's absence. I turned back over to Bill, who was in a human form with y/n on his right side, holding her at his side with his right hand, digging his gloved hand into her bare arm. "How did you do that?" I asked, my fist clenched. "Call it a trick up my sleeve," he shrugged. He flicked his left wrist, summoning a small dagger, but sharp enough to take a life. "NO!" I shouted. "HAHAHA!" Bill laughed, putting the dagger's blade at y/n's throat. Her eyes widened in fear, the dagger blade on her skin now. "Bill, DON'T!" I shouted again. "Pine Tree, you know as well as I do I don't value any of you mortal's worthless lives," he laughed, his wicked grin growing. The wind blew, tossing leaves around, leaving the three of us at a standstill, but I broke the silence after a minute or so.  
  
"What deal do you want then?" I asked, my voice shaky.  
  
Y/n's POV  
My eyes opened even wider. I read enough about Bill and Dipper never wanted ME to make a deal with him! "I knew you'd come around!" Bill laughed. My fists clenched, but I controlled myself. I looked over at Dipper, my eyes begging him not to do it. "The deal is, you hand over any sort of rift created from the reopening of the portal! What you get is Petals here, unharmed! Well, physically! I may have just now scared her for life!" he laughed darkly. I dared not move a muscle, but I continued to plead Dipper not to do it. _I have to,_ his eyes seemed to say to me.  
  
I shook my head the slightest bit, but he clenched his fists and closed his eyes, uttering one word I begged he wouldn't say. "Deal," he growled. His eyes shot open, looking Bill in the eye. "Excellent!" Bill grinned. He tossed the dagger over at his right hand, keeping the dagger at my throat and pressed against his side. He ignited his left hand with a blue flame, extending it at Dipper. "Take it, Pine Tree! Or say goodbye to your girlfriend," Bill grinned wickedly, shown by the blue glow from his hand.  
  
Dipper's POV  
I hesitated, but I reached out and took his hand, sealing our deal. "Smart move," Bill said in a bored tone, tossing y/n over at me. I caught her and dropped down to one knee, gripping the startled girl. Her eyes were glancing around rapidly, trying to find something to soothe herself with. "It's okay. It's okay," I cried, gripping y/n tighter. Tears streamed down her face, terrified. _What have I done?_ I cried in my head. I just put an innocent girl in danger.   
  
"Don't forget about this deal, kid! Or, say goodbye to y/n," Bill reminded me. I looked over at him, glaring. "Later, sucker!" his voice echoed. He tipped his top hat, vanishing and leaving us only a few feet from the shack. "That was so scary," y/n cried into my shoulder. I pulled her up closer, gripping onto her. "He's gone. He's gone," I cried repeatedly, my tears staining her shirt.   
  
Y/n's POV  
I had a dagger on my skin and a mad demon ready to use it. I could feel my tears streaming down on Dipper's shirt, but I could feel his on mine. After a few minutes, we pulled apart. "What are we going to do?" I asked, more tears stinging my eyes, threatening to fall. "I don't know," he sighed. "What about a rift? Can we keep one from happening?" I asked. "I don't know," he sighed again. "Maybe I shouldn't open the portal," Dipper pondered aloud sadly. "No. We **have** to open that portal! What about Mabel? We can risk a rift. We can't risk a life," I answered. "Two lives are at risk," Dipper cried, tears streaming down his face.   
  
Right as Dipper said that, my left arm burned. I held my arm tightly, trying not to scream at the agonizing pain. "Y/n?" Dipper said, a little confused on what was happening. My arms were shaking from the pain. His eyes widened and he picked me up, rushing me into the shack. He set me down on the chair in the TV room and ran to get a first aid kit. I risked a glance at my wrist, noticing blood spilling from the cuts I was getting.  
  
"Got the gauze," Dipper panted. He wrapped up my arm and looked at my hands, seeing the blood. After the pain subsided, we decided to pull off the gauze. We unwrapped it, revealing a whole cut resembling the tattoo of Bill's wheel on Dipper's left arm. We put our arms together, causing both the marks to glow a bright yellow. We pulled our arms away, causing the glow to leave. "What did Bill do? What did **I** do?" Dipper questioned aloud, backing away.  
  
"Dipper, don't blame yourself. **I** made the choice to come here!" I shouted at him, tears stinging my eyes again. "But **I** inspired you to come here!" he shouted. "I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me," he cried. "This isn't your fault. This isn't anyone's fault but Bill's! I read in the journal and you told me yourself he manipulates people to get what he want! Don't you see? Everything that has happened is because Bill made it that way! Every deal he's made is to get him to _this_ day! He wants to control us! We've let him do it now, you let him do it before, heck, **your Great Uncle Ford** let Bill manipulate him! You aren't aloud to feel guilty now because everything that has happened was out of our control! What's done is done and we need to keep moving from here!" I shouted at him, tears spilling from my eyes.  
  
Dipper's POV  
Once y/n finished yelling, tears were down her face again. I took a step closer to y/n, tears going down my face as well. I grabbed her left wrist and looked at the cut Bill left there, making y/n's words hit me even harder. I put a hand on her cheek, pulling her close to me, and pressing my lips against her. Our tears stopped flowing, each of us only caring about that moment. We pulled away slowly after a minute or so, staring at each other. I gripped y/n's right hand in my right. "We can get through this," y/n whispered. I nodded. "A long as you're with me when it happens," I grinned. "I love you, y/n," I whispered. "I love you too. That wasn't our first date, was it?" y/n asked. I smiled wider and soon started laughing. Y/n laughed as well.  
  
"I think we've had a long day. Let's hit the hay," I said, letting go of y/n's hand. "Yeah," she sighed. "Don't worry! He can't get to us while we're in the shack," I said, heading up the stairs to Stan's old room. I slipped off my sweatshirt and shoes, crawling under the covers. It didn't change much. I didn't feel cold, but I didn't feel hot, either. I was stuck at feeling nothing but one temperature. It sucked. I laid awake all night, still remembering that deal and y/n's close death.  
  
Y/n's POV  
I headed down the hallway and made my way into my bedroom, kicking off my shoes and tossing Mabel's bag on the floor. I slid onto the couch and threw a blanket over me, feeling even colder by the looming threat of Bill's words. _Don't forget about this deal, kid! Or, say goodbye to y/n._ Those words had made there way deeper into my subconscious, making me shiver. I had to face the next day where we could either try our hardest to save the world or bring about the end times... _**again.**_


	7. Recovery

Y/n's POV  
I was wide awake all night, wandering the shack quietly. I decided to go down in the basement and check on the portal. The elevator gave its creaky moan, shaking a bit as it descended to the third floor. I didn't dare go to the second floor yet. I'd rather let Dipper explain everything I found in there rather than get any sort of wrong idea. The elevator door opened, revealing the running portal. I walked over to the control panel and flipped through the third journal Dipper let me keep.   
  
I stopped at the blueprint page, reading it over. It was all in some sort of cipher, so I just looked at the blueprints. After a few minutes, I flipped over to the pages about Bill. I was still terrified of him. I reread the pages over and over again. "How did he get out?" I pondered aloud, remembering that Dipper told me him and Mabel shoved him in the portal. I was so focused on the journal I didn't hear the elevator behind me. "That was my fault," Dipper's voice answered. I looked over at him, startled. "S-sorry," he stuttered. "No worries," I answered, turning my attention to the portal. I heard his footsteps walking up next to me.  
  
"Why is it your fault?" I asked after a few minutes, breaking the silence, other than the buzzing of the portal. "All you need to know is that this tattoo was a mistake," he laughed, shaking his head. "How long?" I asked after another few minutes of silence. "How long until what?" he asked. "Until we open the portal," I added. "Won't open until about a week now," he answered, walking around a bit. "Now?" I asked, turning to face him. "Could've opened it either tomorrow or the day after. Now that we have to avoid another rift, we need to take a few more precautions," he answered, pacing a bit.  
  
Dipper's POV  
I started pacing the grounds a bit. I really wish I had a pen down there with me. I never did break out of that habit. "Why was there a rift before?" y/n asked me, breaking me away from my thoughts on my nervous ticks. "My Grunkle Stan wasn't the best at building a portal. He only read what he needed to open the portal and didn't bother reading the warnings," I laughed. I sighed after a little while. "Y/n, I'm not sure if it was a good idea for you to help me with this portal. I mean, Bill could've really hurt you and you're still in danger," I said aloud. "Dipper, everyone in the world is in danger! Let me ask you this. If you had a choice between knowing what was right in front of you, would you want to know it? Or would you want to be oblivious?" she asked me. My mind wandered to Fiddleford McGucket.   
  
"Well, I knew a man who went crazy once he started erasing his memories of anything that left him with guilt or just didn't want to remember," I laughed a bit. "What did he chose in the end of it all?" she asked, looking me in the eye. "He tried his best to remember," I sighed. She had me. "Exactly. I don't want to be walking around completely ignorant to my surroundings!" she laughed. I smiled a bit. "Now, stop trying to get me to give up on this portal!" she laughed, punching me in the arm lightly. I laughed and rubbed where she punched my arm.  
  
Y/n's POV  
Truth was, I felt like I was in a little too deep in these mysteries to give up now. I didn't plan on giving up now. I knew there was someone else's life at stake other than mine. I wanted to bring her back safely. "So, you're getting the toxic waste tomorrow night?" I asked. He nodded. I looked back over to the portal, hearing the buzzing again. "So, we're safe in the shack?" I asked. He nodded again. "Are we going to do another monster hunt?" I questioned. "It's up to you. If you're ready-" Dipper went. "I'm ready," I interrupted "Are you sure? I'm kind of worried about that mark," he said, pointing at my left arm. I lifted it and looked at the cuts. They were starting to scab over, so I didn't worry about it much. "It's fine," I shrugged.  
  
Dipper's POV  
I didn't lift my gaze from her arm. It seemed too normal for Bill, to be honest. It should have done more. Maybe it was in an early stage, so I shrugged it off as y/n had. "Okay. Well, the unicorns seemed a bit easy, so let's try something a little more challenging. How about... gnomes? You seem to be able to handle yourself well against a creature," I suggested. "Sounds great! What, aren't they just little men?" she asked. "Oh, they can be more than that!" I laughed. "Is this hunt gonna be more for fun?" she questioned. "Yeah. They don't have much we'd want or need. I just feel a little uneasy leaving the shack now," I admitted. "What's Bill gonna do?" she questioned. She had me there. "True," I nodded.   
  
"So, I'll go get my bag ready and we can head out!" she said. We both walked over to the elevator and went to our rooms, packing our bags.


	8. Gnomes!

Y/n's POV  
I rushed to the room I was staying at and grabbed Mabel's bag. Shoving some water bottles, snack bars, and my sweatshirt, I grabbed the third journal and opened it to the gnome page. "Leaf blowers?" I laughed. "Yep! Mabel sucked up the leader and we fired him at the rest!" Dipper said from the doorway. I jumped and dropped the book. "Geez, man! I can't think of one time I haven't jumped when you show up from nowhere," I laughed, picking up the journal and slamming it shut. "And yet, you weren't even here for a day and you were almost killed," he laughed, sitting down next to me. I laughed too. It felt nice to laugh.  
  
"Well, let's hope this monster hunt doesn't go so far down south," he laughed, standing up from the couch. I stood up as well, slipping the bag on. "Where we heading?" I asked. "You've got the book! Let me know where we go this time," Dipper responded, turning to the door and heading out. I opened the journal to the gnome and marked the page with a bookmark. "Deep in the middle of the forest? No exact location, so I guess we just walk around a while," I suggested. Dipper opened the door a little more reluctantly than last time. "Works for me," he shrugged.   
  
~Time Skip~  
  
Dipper's POV  
We walked through the forest for a while and I noticed y/n taking quick peeks at the bandaged mark Bill left her. I knew I wasn't going to convince her to leave, so I kept my mouth shut about repeating myself. "D-does it hurt?" I asked after a few more minutes of watching her look. She looked over at me and put her arm down, nodding. "I feel really bad I let that happen," I sighed. "No, we are NOT going through that again!" she scolded. I could feel my face growing hot. "If I really did want to leave, I would have left by now," y/n added. "You make a good point," I laughed.   
  
Y/n's POV  
As we continued walking, I heard a twig snap from off the path, beside me. I jerked my head to where I heard the sound and listened. "Y/n, did you hear something?" Dipper asked. He was a little bit ahead of me. I hadn't realized I stopped walking. I shook my head, shaking it off. "Probably just an animal," I responded, jogging to catch up to him.   
  
Walking a little longer, I heard another twig. I snapped my attention to the noise. "Not sure if it's an animal anymore," I muttered. I strayed off the path to follow the noise. "Y/n?" I heard Dipper call for me. I didn't reply and kept walking to the noise. More twigs snapped. I looked behind me, gasping to only find Dipper. "Your streak on making me jump continues," you breathed. "Sorry," he apologized. We headed back for the path. A branch scraped the arm with the mark, splitting the fabric and leaving a cut. Once we made it back on the path, I felt a tiny tap on my shoulder. I whipped around, facing nobody. I spun back around, but I lost sight of Dipper.   
  
"Dipper?" I called out, but no answer from him. Another tap on my shoulder. I spun around, fists clenched. "Who's there?" I shouted. Another tap from behind. "Bill! If that's you-" I shouted angrily. Another tap. This time, I just groaned and started walking where I thought the path was. Another tap. I spun around and swung a punch. I just hit air. "I'm not gonna ask again!" I shouted. No response. I took off running down the direction where I thought the path was. I felt multiple pairs of tiny hands try to snake around my limbs. I started yanking at them a bit, but a tiny creature tripped me. I could feel tiny hands snaking up my legs, dragging me along the forest floor. "DIPPER!" I screamed, reaching for anything stuck down, but I found nothing. I was slammed along the ground, hitting my head on a rock. Everything went black.  
  
Dipper's POV  
I found my way back to the trail, but I didn't hear y/n. I looked behind me, but I left her behind. "Crap," I hissed at myself, rushing back to where I last saw y/n. "DIPPER!" I heard her scream. I quickened my pace. "Y/N!" I shouted, rushing into the clearing. I looked around, but she wasn't there. "Y/N!" I shouted, looking around frantically. She wasn't there. Something caught my eye, though. I crouched down, finding a gray beard hair. "Oh no," I groaned, rushing through the dense forest.   
  
I kept running, finding a bit of blood dried on the grass. I kept reassuring myself it wasn't hers. I kept rushing down the direction of the dried blood, but then a bright yellow light illuminated my mark. "Not now," I grumbled, the scene around me going gray. "Guess who, Pine Tree!" Bill cheered in his triangle form. "Where's your human body?" I snapped. "Gets boring after a while. Can't feel pain like I can in your body," he shrugged. "What do you want? You don't have any leverage for another deal," I groaned. "But you're wrong! I know you lost y/n," he smirked.   
  
"So what? You said you don't value her life!" I shouted. "No, I said I don't value any mortal's life! She may be mortal, but she's a great way to get deals from you after disposing of Shooting Star!" he grinned. My fists clenched so tight my knuckles turned white after Bill mentioned Mabel. "Oh, calm down! Unless you want my help to get her back," he said. "I'm not making another deal! I've beaten them before and I'll beat them now!" I shouted, storming past him.   
  
"You may want to reconsider," he said, outstretching his arm to pull me closer to him. I shot him a dirty look and pushed his arm off my shoulders. "No, I don't actually," I hissed, taking off down the direction of where y/n may have been taken.  
  
Bill's POV  
Oh, he'll take another deal sooner or later! I never fully understood a human's emotions, but I knew that he liked Petals. That much was clear. Something happened between the two and it makes it that much easier to distract him. But, I have to worry more about Petals now than Pine Tree. Pine Tree has served his use to me, but Petals hasn't. Even if she was mortal, she was much more than a distraction for Pine Tree. She was an indecisive pawn. She was leaning closer and closer to Pine Tree, which is what I had originally wanted. Something about her made her both useful and dangerous. I needed to bring this world Weirdmageddon once more, but I have no way to do so. Maybe threatening her life took things too far. I needed Pine Tree and her to continue the rescue of Shooting Star, but I also need my pawns in tact until their destruction was pleasurable. Maybe I should just help Pine Tree. There's nothing I need from him or Petals, besides working on that portal.   
  
Y/n's POV  
I forced my eyes to stay open, but it took more effort than it should have. Once I opened my eyes, I found my arms tied behind a tree and my ankles tied together. Upon a closer inspection, my limbs were tied by thick rope. "Oh great," I moaned. Tugging at the ropes a bit, I could tell they were pulled tight and wouldn't be undone anytime soon. Nonetheless, I felt around for the knot connecting my hands and felt around to untangle the knot. "Oh good! You're awake!" a voice called. "Who's there?" I called out, pausing at the attempt to untie the ropes. "Hello!" a man, or more precisely, a gnome, stepped out in front of me. He had a red pointy hat on, his face decorated with a brown beard traveling around his head, hiding some of his already tiny arms and legs. His sleeves were a light blue while his pants had a darker hue of blue and shoes the color of his beard.  
  
"Hello. What's your name?" I asked, trying to keep him distracted as I turned my attention back to the objective of freeing my tied arms and legs. "Well, my name is Jeff! What might yours be?" he asked sweetly. "I'd rather not say," was my only response as I continued working on the ropes bounding my limbs together. "Awe, come on, sweetie! We need to know your name for you to be our gnome queen!" he responded, causing me to stop untying once more. "Who's 'we'?" I asked. "Well, all us gnomes, of course!" Jeff exclaimed. Just then, many gnomes came out from their hiding places. I looked behind the tree I was tied to, seeing a group rushing over and started tying the ropes tighter, causing them to dig deeper into my skin. I had just realized that the ropes were over my mark as well, causing me to grimace from the searing pain.  
  
"What's wrong, honey?" Jeff asked, a look of worry on his face. "Just got a nasty cut yesterday. Nothing permanent," I lied. I knew I had to play along with all of this. Dipper told me how him and Mabel were able to stop them, but I knew Dipper didn't have a leaf blower on him. I just kept going along, hoping for a miracle.  
  
Dipper's POV  
I was getting cut up by tree branches as I kept running in hopes of finding y/n, but I didn't care about those cuts. The worst one either of us would ever have is Bill's. I pushed back a branch quietly, hearing a few voices. "So, why did you kidnap me?" y/n's voice went. I knew those gnomes would do something like this, but now I just need to figure out how to get y/n out of there without getting her even more hurt than she is now. I noticed multiple cuts and bruises that had formed on her arms and legs. "What are they doing," I mumbled, kneeling now. "Well, we're looking for a gnome queen!" Jeff said enthusiastically. "So, you kidnap someone you don't even know?" y/n answered back. I noticed her moving her arms around a bit. She was working on untying the ropes. I grinned to myself.  
  
"Well, yes!" he answered, but y/n already undid the ropes around her wrist and threw a punch at him. I took that as my cue and jumped out from the bushes. "Took you long enough!" y/n grinned, working on the ropes around her ankles. "It looked like you had it handled!" I laughed, sweeping my leg under a group of gnomes surrounding me. Y/n was having a harder time undoing the other rope, so I just picked her up bridal style and rushed in the direction of the Mystery Shack. I heard the gnomes gaining on us, so I picked up the pace.  
  
Bill's POV  
I leaned against the tree I was on, hearing the gnomes screeching. Looking over the branch, I saw Pine Tree holding Petals bridal style, running from the gnomes. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that Petals' ankles were tied together by a thick rope. She was working on undoing the thick ropes, but the gnome's were gaining. "Leave it to those two to go looking for trouble," I laughed. Nonetheless, I floated down and helped the two. I kept keeping the gnomes a decent enough distance from them. I sneaked a glance over at Petals, who stopped briefly and then said something to Pine Tree. Good. I couldn't let her think of me as a bad guy with her not fully trusting either me or Pine Tree.  
  
Y/n's POV  
I watched Bill keep the gnomes a good distance from me and Dipper. I paused from untying the rope around my ankles and told Dipper. "Just work on the ropes," was Dipper's only response. "You still shouldn't trust him," he mumbled. I finished undoing the knot and dropped the rope, pushing out of Dipper's arms and tried running on my own. I stumbled a bit from lack of using my ankles and the tight boundings, but I managed.   
  
After half an hour, we had finally made it back to the shack. My lungs were burning and I collapsed on the ground, my legs losing feeling. "Well that was fun," I heaved. I turned my head to try to find Dipper, but found Bill instead. I found enough energy to try to crawl away, but Bill snapped his finger, causing me to collapse and stay down. I struggled with the invisible force, but I gave up after a little. "Where's Dipper?" I sighed, looking him in his eye. "Pine Tree's fine! I just needed to have a little chat with you," Bill said. I looked around a bit, realizing that the scenery around me was black and white, other than me, Bill, and the mark Bill gave me, which was glowing a brilliant yellow. "Can I ask you something?" I asked. "Sure!" he said, propping himself on one elbow. "Why did you give me this?" I asked.  
  
"Give you what? Oh, you mean that mark!" he laughed. "Yes, the mark," I groaned. "Now Pine Tree has another twin!" he grinned. I rolled my eyes. "What's the real reason?" I groaned. "Let you know when I'm close," he shrugged. "Where's Dipper?" I repeated. "Why do you want to know where that meat sack is?" Bill asked, floating a little higher in front of my face. "Because we have that portal to work on for his sister and you still want that rift," I spat. "Okay then!" Bill's eye grinned, snapping his fingers. The area around me returned to color and Dipper came rushing out of the forest.  
  
"How'd you get ahead of me?" he panted. "Bill," I groaned, trying to stand. Dipper groaned and helped me up. "What did he want?" Dipper asked. "A chat. I just asked him about the mark and he said it's just to let me know when he's close," I answered simply. "Let's just get the portal ready," I added after seeing Dipper's confused face. "Oh yes! I need to get the toxic waste," Dipper exclaimed. "And I'll keep the portal running smoothly," I said, heading for the shack.   
  
Dipper's POV  
I followed y/n into the shack and down to the portal. "Here," I said to y/n, handing her a watch. "What's this for?" she asked. "It'll inform me of the portal and any sort of problems. And it's a safer way to communicate while I'm in the toxic waste facility," I explained. She latched on the watch. I walked to the control panel and charged up the portal. Hearing the familiar hum, I stepped back and grinned. "Which reminds me, there's something I need to go grab," I said out of nowhere, heading to the elevator. Y/n followed. "Stay down here. I'll contact you through the watch. Oh, and take these," I said, handing y/n the other two journals. I waved and closed the elevator, heading for floor 2.  
  
Y/n's POV  
I watched the elevator go and waited for the noise to cease. I turned my attention back to the portal, stepping in. The portal hummed with life. "What's in there?" I wondered aloud. Listening to the continuous humming, I decided to go back to the control room. I pulled over a chair, sitting down and looking through the journals a bit. The watch buzzed after a while. I pressed the side button, pulling up a video screen to show Dipper. "There already?" I asked. "It's been an hour," he whisper-laughed. "I was in there that long?" I mumbled. Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Never mind. Where are you at?" I asked, leaning back into the chair. "Right outside the facility. I'm heading in and I'll call back when I'm out. I got the memory gun from the second floor equipped," he whispered.  
  
I nodded and wished him luck, turning off the device. I decided to head to the kitchen to grab something small. Opening the fridge, I made a sandwich from leftovers and went back down. Once the elevator opened, the portal's usual normal humming began buzzing, the foundation shaking. "What the-" I started, but I rushed over to the control panel. It was overheating. I flipped a few switches, cooling it down. I dropped into the seat, taking in a deep breath. After I calmed down, I flipped through the third journal to the portal blueprints. I pushed myself to the panel, flipping on the black light. Letters illuminated the page. I spun back to the desk, reading the words from the third journal.  
  
My watch buzzed. I turned my attention to the watch, answering Dipper's call. "What's up?" I asked. "On my way," he panted. "What happened?" I asked. "Um, I'll explain when I get back!" he said quickly. I nodded and hung up. "Maybe I should wait..." I pondered. I glanced over at the journal, seeing a picture of the earth being torn apart. Curiosity got the best of me and I grabbed the rest of the journals and flipped them all to the blueprints. Shining the black light on the pages, I read aloud. "'I was wrong the whole time! The machine was meant to create knowledge, but it is too powerful! I was deceived and now it is too late! The device, if fully operational, could tear our universe apart!'" I exclaimed. I kept reading. "'It must not fall into the wrong hands, if the clock ever reaches zero our universe is doomed!'" I concluded. I looked at the images, my mind racing. One was a crack forming with bodies falling into a pit of fire and the other was the earth being torn apart with the words "Total global destruction!" underneath it.   
  
"What do I do?!" I exclaimed, pacing the floor. "On one hand, we're rescuing someone. On the other hand, we could kill innocent people! The possible rift and possible apocalypse. I talked Dipper into continuing this," I babbled. "No, we need to do this. But we could do more harm than good!" I continued babbling. I heard the elevator and saw Dipper with a barrel of toxic waste. "Something wrong, y/n?" he asked, setting the barrel down. I froze, staring. "Y/n?" he asked again, stepping closer. _What am I supposed to do?_


	9. Misunderstandings

Y/n's POV  
I backed up a step as Dipper continued approaching. "Y/n, what's wrong?" Dipper cooed, stepping cautiously. "We need to shut it down," I whispered, too low for Dipper to hear. I myself had barely heard my voice. "What?" Dipper asked, stopping. "We need to shut this portal down!" I said, a little louder. Dipper stepped back, surprised. "Why?" he asked, regaining himself. "Why? WHY?! BECAUSE WE COULD KILL EVERYONE ON THIS PLANET! WE'RE BEING TRICKED!" I screamed. "I thought you wanted to save Mabel though," he frowned. I sighed. "I do, but your Great Uncle Ford's note on the pages of the blueprints-" I said, but Dipper cut me off. "Okay, that makes sense now. Ford was tricked by Bill and that hidden note was how he was almost going to be stranded in that portal longer," he answered. "Why didn't you tell me that?" I asked. "Because it wasn't too big of a deal. When I found that, I was ready to shut it down. Would you have helped me if I included that part in my explanation?" he asked.   
  
I stood there in silence for a few minutes. "See? I need to help my sister out of whatever she's going through!" Dipper exclaimed. I sighed. He always has me there. "How can we prevent a rift?" I asked. "I don't know. Maybe we can keep it a secret. He can't get in with the unicorn hair up," Dipper shrugged. "Now, where does the toxic waste go?" he asked, getting the barrel. "In that hatch," I replied, nodding towards the hatch at the control panel.   
  
"Could you go get the next barrel?" Dipper asked, pouring in the toxic waste. I nodded and headed to the elevator, grabbing a pair of gloves. When I opened the vending machine, the old gift shop floor couldn't even be seen with all the barrels. I sighed and slipped on the gloves, grabbing a barrel. I lifted it up just enough to take it to the machine and placed it in the elevator, sending it down. I went back up and grabbed the next barrel, repeating the process until all were down in the basement. I went down with the final barrel and the elevator opened to reveal the floor littered with empty barrels and the occasional toxic waste puddles, growing larger by each dripping barrel.   
  
"Hey Dipper," I waved, setting down the last barrel. "Hey y/n," he replied, still focused on the barrel. "This everything we need?" I asked, walking up behind him. "Pretty much. The portal should be active by tomorrow night, but the town's having a huge party tomorrow," he said. "What's that have to do with anything?" I ask. "Everything. We don't wanna attract attention on why we're the only ones not there, so we gotta attend," he explained. "What time is it over?" I ask. "Around the same time the portal finishes charging. Oh, and there are gonna be some gravity anomalies, so I need you to play it cool to keep the townsfolk from catching on," he added.  
  
"Well, we may wanna hit the hay! Portal's all ready for tomorrow and we gotta get into town at noon," Dipper said after about five minutes of silence. "Okay," I responded, heading towards the elevator. Once I turned to face the room, Dipper was looking at the portal. "You coming?" I asked, leaning my head out of the elevator. "In a little. Get some sleep," he said, waving me off. I shrugged it off and hit the button, heading back to the gift shop and into my room. I slipped off my dirty and torn clothes, pulling on a big tee shirt and fuzzy f/c pajama pants, slipping under the covers. I closed my eyes an drifted off to my Mindscape.  
  
Dipper's POV  
Once I heard the elevator leave, I stepped inside the portal room. I was greeted with the familiar hum of the portal. I smiled to myself. "Hang in there Mabel." I watched the portal, imagining the day the author came out of the portal. After a while, I finally left the portal room and entered the elevator, stepping back into the gift shop. I headed down the secret hallway and made it to Ford's old bedroom. I opened the door slightly, finding y/n sleeping under her blanket. I smiled to myself and watched the rising and falling of her chest for a little bit. _We can get through this_ I thought to myself. I closed the door as quietly as I could and headed to my room. Slipping off my shoes, I climbed into bed and drifted to my Mindscape.  
  
Bill's POV  
I tried to get through the protection again, but it wasn't going to work this time. Instead, I floated to a nearby tree and leaned back, changing into my human form. The transformation on y/n would be finished soon enough. It took a few days for it to happen to Pine Tree after his tattoo. I grinned to myself. "Soon enough," I muttered happily. "Sweet dreams..."


	10. Party Crasher Pt. 1

Y/n's POV  
"Y/n, wake up! It's 11 o'clock!" Dipper said, poking his head into my room. I opened my eyes groggily, rubbing the sleep out of them with my palms. "That late?" I asked, still rubbing my eyes. "Yeah. We were up until 2:00 last night!" Dipper exclaimed. He rushed away from the door and I could hear the pounding of stairs, then a door closing. I propped myself up and swung my legs over the bed, pushing off to get dressed. I put on something nice,[ a galaxy dress](http://www.luulla.com/product/267044/galaxy-purple-skater-dress) with black leggings, black flats, a small black purse, and a nice jean jacket. I slipped the purse over my shoulder and headed out the door, my flats clicking on the hard floor. I headed to the kitchen and grabbed a Pitt Cola, relaxing on the chair while flipping through the channels. I finally stopped on a show called Ducktective, which started out as an innocent cartoon, until an adult joke was cracked. I smirked and took a sip of my Pitt Cola, waiting for Dipper.  
  
Dipper's POV  
I closed the door and walked over to the dresser, puling out a pair of white socks. I headed to the closet, pulling out a suit I had bought, just in case. It was a classic suit with a nice black bow tie, black dress shoes, and I placed my blue pine tree hat on my messy brown hair. I flicked the rim of the hat up, smirking at myself in the mirror. "That ought to do the trick!" I laughed, remembering the day my Grunkle Stan let me have the hat. I slipped on the suit, making sure I covered up my tattoo all the way.   
  
I opened the door and headed down the stairs, finding y/n on the chair in her outfit. "You look nice!" I commented. She looked over at me and grinned. "You too!" she said, standing up. "Ready?" she asked. I nodded. "Where's the party at, anyway?" she questioned, pulling her purse up. "The Northwest Mansion. Pacifica talked her parents into heading out of town, so she's inviting the entire town to make up for shutting out the town earlier this year," I answered. "Fun," she nodded. "C'mon. Time to go! We gotta be back in..." I paused, checking the watch my Grunkle Stan had used for tracking the countdown of the portal. "Eight hours," I finished.  
  
"That works," she nodded. She spun on her heels and turned to face the door. I caught a glimpse of her mark. "Want something to cover that?" I asked, pointing to the mark. "That's why I have this," she smiled, holding up her jacket. She slipped it on, hiding the wound. I smiled and opened the door for her. "Thanks," she grinned, stepping outside.   
  
Y/n's POV  
I exited the shack, greeted by the cluster of trees. I smiled as a small gust of wind blew strands of hair out of my face. Dipper brushed by me and started heading to the woods. I followed. "So, who is Pacifica?" I asked once we walked into the woods. "This girl me and Mabel met on our first summer down here. We weren't friends. In fact, she hated us," he explained, chuckling to himself. "Are we just crashing the party then?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He chuckled again. "No, we found out it was her parents that were always pressuring her. I met her when I went in 2012. It was fun! Minus us both almost getting killed by a Category Ten ghost." My eyes grew large. "Nobody died," he assured me. I nodded as we kept walking.   
  
We finally made it out of the forest and into the town. "There it is!" Dipper exclaimed, pointing to a giant house on the top of the hill. "THAT'S their house?! I thought you said they were frauds!" I exclaimed. "Yeah. Frauds with tons of money living in a town where most of the townsfolk are clueless!" he laughed. "The party's about to start! Come on!" Dipper said, grabbing my hand and rushing to the party.  
  
As we approached the entrance of the mansion, a large crowd was already gathered in front of a girl who looked like she was seventeen as well with long, blonde hair with front bangs, hot pink eye shadow, a hot pink dress with back fuzz in the shoulders and the end of the dress that showed her hot pink heels, and white hoop earrings. "Welcome everyone! I'm glad all of you could make it while my parents are out of town!" She paused and started looking over the crowd until her eyes landed on me and Dipper. She smiled slightly. Let's get this party started!" she shouted and pumping her fist in the air, causing the crowd to cheer in response.  
  
She led the crowd into the mansion, revealing a grand room with room for dancing, a DJ station set up, a large rug covering the entryway floor, tables of snacks and drinks set up, a cider fountain, a stairway splitting into two separate directions, and a cabin feel with cobblestone pillars and log walls. The crowd marveled while Dipper just smiled. Pacifica walked up to us. "Hey Dipstick! This must be the new girl, y/n!" she exclaimed, extending a hand to me. I gladly took it and returned the smile. "You must be Pacifica," I replied. She giggled a little. Dipper looked a little surprised. "Well, the apocalypse sure changed you!" he said, raising an eyebrow. "What can I say? War can change lives!" she replied.   
  
"What's planned for this party then?" Dipper asked. "Oh, ya know! Some karaoke, dancing, food, drinks, cider," Pacifica went on. "Cool. You going to sing then?" I asked. "Obviously! Oh, Dipper, I have something to ask you in private," Pacifica answered, turning her attention to Dipper. "Is it about that 'thing'?" Dipper asked, putting air quotes around thing. Pacifica nodded. "Oh, y/n knows about that! But, we do need to talk about that. The secret room?" Dipper suggested. "What secret room?" I asked.   
  
Pacifica glanced back at the party quickly. "Let's go," she said, gesturing for us to follow. We stayed at her heels, heading down a long hallway with paintings. She finally stopped at the end of the corridor at a furry painting. I could notice a small tear at one part. Pacifica dived into the opening, Dipper following. I jumped in as well, seeing a messy room with more paintings and silverware littering the floor. "What is this place?" I marveled. I noticed a painting of what looked to be a Northwest crossing fingers behind his back while he was shaking hands with an Indian. "Just a room full of paintings of every horrible thing my family's done." She shrugged her shoulders.   
  
"She's nothing like them now," Dipper added. "So, what do you need to know about the portal?" Dipper asked Pacifica. My eyes widened. "She knows?" I asked, stunned. "Yeah. I had to tell someone who wouldn't stop me from making the portal. She also stopped by too much after the resistance," Dipper explained, looking over at Pacifica. "I was able to keep my parents out of town while the portal was finished!" Pacifica defended. "You don't want them here with the risk of another Weirdmageddon," Dipper said, raising an eyebrow. "Never mind about my parents! Catch me up! How close are you to saving Mabel? When is it coming on?" Pacifica asked. "Y/n can answer those!" Dipper laughed, gesturing to me.  
  
"Tonight," I answered. She grinned widely. "What time?" Pacifica asked. "8 o'clock," I answered. "Can I come?" she asked. "Actually, there are going to be some gravity anomalies. I need you to hide them while everyone in town is here," Dipper stepped in, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Oh," Pacifica answered sadly. "I'll give you a call when she's here," Dipper assured her. "Should we tell her about 'you know who'?" I asked. He nodded. "Bill," I said. Pacifica's eyes grew in fear and she spun around rapidly. "Dipper, I need to show you something," Pacifica said.  
  
Pacifica's POV  
I showed them out of the hidden room and headed back out to the party. My friends tried to have me sing or dance, but I waved them off. "Later," I replied. I led them towards another hallway and reached the end of the short corridor. "I noticed this after Weirdmageddon," I said, gesturing to the portrait. "How have you missed this for twelve years?" Dipper asked. I shrugged shyly. "Why is this here? Wait a minute..." Dipper paused. He slapped his forehead and gave a small chuckle. "McGucket led me here when he was warning me about the end times." He laughed to himself. "Hey, you were at the best party in town!" I pointed out. Y/n looked over my shoulder at the tapestry, then walked past me. Her eyes widened. "Hey, the apocalypse wasn't as bad as you might think! We know how to stop it," I assured her. I noticed a small glow on her arm. "Dipper, that looks a little like yours," I whispered. "Because Bill came by," he whispered back. I got a little nervous once I saw Dipper's arm glowing too. We stayed quiet for a few minutes.  
  
"H-hey," I broke the silence. Dipper and y/n looked over at me. "Let's get back to the party. I'm gonna start the karaoke machine up," I suggested. They nodded slightly. "Come on!" I exclaimed, grabbing their hands and dragging them to the party. Dipper pulled us both to a halt, looking at his watch. "What time is it?" I asked. His watch beeped. "Play it cool," he whispered loud enough for me and y/n to hear. I raised an eyebrow, but then my feet were off the ground, as was everyone else's. We all landed a second after with a thud. All the townsfolk looked around confused, probably remembering the first time it happened. "What just happened?" Mayor Tyler asked, which caused the room to buzz about what happened. Everyone looked over at me and started asking questions. "Uh... it was..." I stuttered, not knowing what to say.   
  
Y/n's POV  
I looked through the crowd of people. Dipper had told me how oblivious the townsfolk were. Pacifica was just as scared as I was. "It was a little piece of the party Pacifica added!" I exclaimed. Everyone raised an eyebrow at me. "You know, giant fans are under the house for some nice surprises to keep the party going!" I explained. Everyone started smiling and went back to the party. I glanced around the stirring party, noticing the townsfolk start gripping onto anything solid every once in a while. "Thanks," Pacifica breathed in my ear. I grinned back at her. "I guess that takes care of our worries on the portal! When everyone's up in the air for a few minutes, tell them it's on full blast," Dipper laughed. "I gotta go fire up the karaoke machine," Pacifica stated, then headed to the staircase. I spun on my heels to face Dipper. Just then, my favorite song came on(choose your dancable song and forget this cheesiness! It's cute!)! "I love this song!" I exclaimed, humming along to it. "Wanna dance?" Dipper asked, grabbing my hand. I smiled at him. "Sure. But I can't dance," I admitted. "Neither can I," he laughed.  
  
Spinning me around, my dress spun with me. I tapped my feet along with the tune a bit, moving my hips with the beat. I kept spinning, bumping into the crowd a bit on accident. They replied with smiles and clapped along with the beat. I grinned back, grabbing Mayor Tyler's hand and making him dance along too. Soon enough, the dance floor was full with the rhythmic beat of tapping feet. Pushing through the crowd, I found Dipper and shot him a grin. "Getting everyone in, I see?" he commented. I grabbed Dipper's arms and spun him a bit, pulling him back through the crowd. We both followed along with the rhythmic beat. I glanced over to the staircase, seeing Pacifica finish setting up the karaoke machine. She squeezed her way through the crowd and made it to me, just as the song finished.   
  
"You gotta sing a song!" she exclaimed. "I can't sing," I admitted shyly. Dipper placed his hands on my shoulder. "Same as you can't dance?" he laughed. Pacifica started laughing as well. "Then you are DEFINITELY singing! I'm setting up a contest and I'm competing! Winner gets bragging rights for a week!" Pacifica exclaimed over the cheering crowd. "Fine!" I laughed, just as I noticed the mark glowing again, same as Dipper's. "Should we be worried?" I asked Dipper, facing him. Just then, the doors opened wide, revealing a familiar face, his golden hair sweeping over his right eye with his left eye a slitted pupil with a glowing yellow. "I might go with yes."


	11. Party Crasher Pt. 2

Y/n's POV  
"Not you," I groaned. "Oh, be happier about it!" Bill grinned. He spun on his heels to face Dipper. "I just wanna offer a friendly deal!" he stated, keeping up his friendly act with the townsfolk. I suppose he hadn't learned the trick on turning into a human form when they met him. "What do you want then, B-" Dipper started, but Bill placed a gloved hand over his mouth. "Just wanna talk to my old friends," he grinned, keeping up his nice guy act. "Y/n, Dipper, Pacifica," he named, nodding a head to us. Seeing I had no other choice, I followed behind Bill and Dipper with Pacifica at my side. He kept his hands on Dipper's shoulders firmly, keeping him from running.   
  
He led the three of us into the secret room behind the painting. "Get to the point, will you? I have a party I have to host!" Pacifica snapped as Bill released Dipper. "You mentioned something about a deal," I huffed annoyingly. "You're right about that, Petals! Okay, the deal is simple: It's a chance that you can keep the rift safe," Bill stated. I raised an eyebrow. "What's the catch?" I asked. "You mean my side of the deal? Oh, this is a party and I wanna have a twist in this game of mine! Petals here has to beat me in the singing contest! If you win, I may not touch the rift whatsoever, even if I possess someone! If I win, the rift is mine," Bill explained, throwing his arms out for effect. "You already have the rift. Why this deal?" Dipper asked, placing his arms over his chest. "Like I said, Pine Tree! I love games and this stupid hick town is my chessboard. I'm looking for an expansion, sending the world my chaos!" he answered, raising his eyebrow in glee.  
  
Dipper's POV  
I shot daggers at Bill. "Why do you think we'd accept that deal?" I asked. "Well, it's up to Petals here! But, I think I forgot to mention something! That night down in the portal room when you were talking to your mother," he started. Y/n's eyebrows raised in surprise. "What did you do to her?" y/n hissed. "She's fine! But, I can always go back at her," Bill threatened. I looked over at y/n, noticing her eyes lit with fiery rage. I placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling her shudder a bit from Bill's words. "Fine," she spat, extending her hand. Bill smirked and grabbed y/n's hand with his blue flaming hand, shaking it firmly. "Oh, and you can't tell the citizens that it's me," he added, still gripping her hand. He released y/n's hand, y/n's mark glowing a little brighter.  
  
Bill's POV  
I planned to win that contest fair and square. That deal was something fun that I knew I would win, but the main reason was to complete y/n's mark. "What song do you plan to sing?" I asked the small group. "Nothing you need to know! Now, just go look over that song list!" Pacifica snapped. "Geez, snappy!" I laughed, leaving the secret Northwest room.  
  
Y/n's POV  
"He's right about the song! I need a good one to beat him," I said after a few seconds of silence. "What are you going to sing then?" Dipper asked. I smirked. "I think I've got an idea." We made our way out of the room, stepping out into the bright hallway. "Well, time to get started! You gotta start the contest," I said to Pacifica as we stepped back into the party. Bill was standing by the karaoke machine and waved once he saw us. Pacifica and I groaned, but we walked over to him nonetheless. "Got my song picked!" Bill grinned. "Well, just wait. I have to announce the contest," Pacifica groaned. I handed her the microphone and she tapped on it, getting everyone's attention.  
  
"Hello, citizens of Gravity Falls!" Pacifica started. "It's time for the karaoke contest!" she exclaimed, causing the townsfolk to cheer in response. "You have 10 minutes to sign up for singing. Come up to the stage and sign your name and most applause at the end of the night is the winner, getting bragging rights for a week, " Pacifica finished. A large line was filed in front of her. "Pass it down the line," she called out, handing the clipboard to Mayor Tyler. Bill came up behind Pacifica and started pestering her about when he was up. "You and y/n are the grand finale," she hissed at him. After ten minutes, the clipboard was back up at the stage and Bill filled out his, then I filled the final section out.  
  
"Okay, time's up! So, first Mayor Tyler will start us out!" Pacifica announced, handing Mayor Tyler the microphone. The karaoke station went on, so Dipper, Pacifica, and I hung out in the crowd. Pacifica ran up to the stage and grabbed the microphone after each person. Finally, the police officers were done with their rapping, so Pacifica ran up and grabbed the microphone. "All right, the night is almost coming to an end! Up next, the new guy, Bill! " she announced. I guess that was all he put down for his name. He grinned and headed up to the stage, waving Pacifica off. Bill flashed his wicked grin, which made me, Dipper, and Pacifica roll our eyes.  
  
"Hit it!" Bill shouted to Pacifica. She sighed and hit a button, warming up the machine and the song list came up. She flipped through the list, landing on what I guess was the song Bill was doing. Bill smirked, tapping his feet along with the beat. Right as the song started picking up, another anomaly took place, this time a little stronger. Bill just used that to his advantage, flying over the hovering crowd.

I hated to admit it, but he was actually really good! He had the people dancing along. I got a little nervous by then. "You can beat him," Dipper assured me, placing a hand on my shoulder. It didn't exactly help since this could either save or end the world again. It felt like the entire world was placed on my shoulders. I just nodded. Pacifica headed up to the stage, Bill handing her the microphone. "Okay, final singer of the night! Give it up for y/n!" Pacifica announced, followed by the cheering crowd. I grinned and stepped up to the stage. Pacifica handed me the microphone. "I thought you were going?" I asked. "Too many people on the list," she shrugged. She walked over to the machine as I whispered which song I was going to sing to her. "Good choice and good luck!" Pacifica wished, stepping off the stage. I felt my hands shaking looking over the crowd. My eyes landed on Bill, who crossed his arms with a large smile. I glared over at him. "Game on, Bill!" I shouted.

I clapped my hands along to the beat, urging the crowd to join in, which they did. I sneaked a glance over at Dipper, who showed me the watch, which started glowing again. I went up a little as well as the crowd, but I played it cool like Bill, hovering around the stage. Once the song finished, the anomaly was finished and I landed on my feet with a thud. As everyone regained themselves, they all started clapping. I smiled out to the crowd as Pacifica rushed up. "Well, that wraps up the contest! Now, everyone who sang, come on up!" she announced. Mayor Tyler came up with the police officers, Tad Strange, a man dressed up in USA clothing, Bill, and me.  
  
"Okay, clapping for Mayor Tyler Cutebiker!" Pacifica announced, followed by a decent amount of cheering. "Not bad. Now, for Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland!" Pacifica continued. Again, around the same amount of cheering for the two. "Not bad. Tad Strange?" she continued. She continued down the line, all pretty evened out, until she made it to Bill. "Applaud your vote for Bill!" Pacifica announced, but I could tell she was annoyed with him. The room erupted with applause. "Oh boy," I muttered. "Last, but definitely not least, GIVE IT UP FOR Y/N!" Pacifica cheered. The room exploded with cheers from the town. "Well, we've got a tie between Bill and y/n, so the rest of you, go ahead back to the audience and put in your own vote!" Pacifica announced. The other contestants left the stage and walked into the crowd.  
  
"Now, applaud once more for Bill!" Pacifica announced after she set up the microphone to catch the applauding in the speaker. The added applause echoed around the mansion. I looked over at the speaker, seeing the volume level up at the edge of the red level. "Now, GIVE IT UP FOR Y/N!" Pacifica cheered, causing the crowd to cheer even louder. I looked over at the volume level, seeing it deep into the red section. I looked over at Dipper, smiling brightly. His face actually looked fearful for some reason. "Oh no," I muttered, realizing what that meant. "All right! Then, the winner is obviously-" Pacifica began, but I saw Dipper run out the door, so I followed.  
  
Pacifica's POV  
Y/n rushed off the stage, so I figured it was almost time. "I guess I'm the winner by default!" Bill whispered in my ear. "No, y/n won," I hissed at him under my breath. "But you didn't announce the winner yet," he smiled. "No, y/-" I started, but Bill cut me off. "The deal is if she wins, but leaving before announcing the winner means she didn't win," he whispered harshly in my ear. He had me there, but the rift... "It's mine," he smiled. "I guess the winner by default, no matter how painful it is, is Bill," I muttered in the microphone. The crowd cheered in response. "I really DO have bragging rights! But for longer than a week," Bill laughed in my ear. "Shut it," I growled. I felt the ground shake a bit, and so did the townsfolk. "Time for the grand finale of the night!" I announced cheerfully, just as the anomaly happened again, this time stronger than any other one.   
  
"I sure hope they're almost there..." I muttered to myself as everyone reached for something sturdy. I looked around for Bill, finding him still in his human form, strolling out of the mansion. "How did he-" I muttered. Everyone started screaming, but it seemed like it was in delight. "PACIFICA! PACIFICA! PACIFICA!" they cheered.   
  
Dipper's POV  
I looked behind me, seeing y/n right there. "I thought you were going to stay there until you won," I panted. "I thought I did," she panted back. "That's not how Bill works," I wheezed. The ground shook a little and I knew what that meant. "Y/N! HANG ON!" We ran even faster, trying to at least get inside the Shack. It came into view and I breathed a sigh of relief. "We're almost there!" I cheered. I opened the door to the shack and let y/n get in. I felt the ground shudder even more, so I grabbed the doorknob tightly and slammed the door shut, just as gravity fell. "Go go go go go!" I urged, pushing off the make it to the vending machine. I punched in the code, helping y/n get in. She kicked off the wall, pulling herself down to the elevator. I followed.  
  
Y/n's POV  
"Come on!" I urged, just as Dipper slammed into me in the elevator. I blushed slightly. "These are the times it was smart to wear leggings with a dress!" I laughed, hitting the button for floor three. The elevator descended, opening to the buzzing portal and less than a minute left on the machine. I pushed off and opened the door to the portal room, looking inside it a bit. It looked like it was an entrance to the opposite side of the galaxy, matching my dress a bit. "It's 8 o'clock! 25 SECONDS!" Dipper shouted at me over the countdown. "T-20 seconds," the female voice announced. Just then, a surge passed through, pushing me to the wall. "DIPPER!" I shouted. "Y/N!" he shouted. I looked over at him and saw him on my right side. I reached out my arm to Dipper, which he grabbed. "1," the countdown concluded. I looked in front of me at the portal, seeing a bright flash of white.  
  
_This is it..._ I thought to myself.  
  
Dipper's POV  
_This is it..._ I thought to myself.  
  
The gravity around us returned, throwing us to the ground. I looked over to find y/n on her feet, brushing herself off. She was looking at the portal. I followed her gaze and saw a shadowy figure wearing a black hoodie, the hood covering their face, black combat boots, long black pants, and black gloves with a grappling hook in hand. "Is that...?" y/n started, staring at the figure. I nodded. The figure took off the hood, their finger on the trigger of the grappling hook. The familiar face, slightly ages similar to my own, was revealed. "Mabel," I smiled, feeling my eyes tear up. "You're back," I choked back a sob. 


	12. Into the Portal

Mabel's POV (inside the portal)  
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I landed with a thud on a dirty ground, leaving my hair a tangled mess and my clothes dirty and torn. I opened my eyes, revealing a smoky sky. I shot up into the air. "NonononononononoNONONO! DIPPER! GREAT UNCLE FORD! GRUNKLE STAN!" I shouted, looking around frantically. "DIPPER?! STAN?! Ford?" I cried. I sunk down to my knees, feeling the tears running down my face. "What did Bill do?!" I sobbed. I grabbed my knees and tucked my birthday sweater over them as I felt tears streaming down my face. "Where am I?" I asked to nobody in particular. "Who's there?!" a harsh voice shouted. I felt myself shaking as I pulled down my sweater. I saw a strange person dressed all in black with a large gun pointed at me. "Oh my god. GUYS! IT'S A LITTLE GIRL!" he shouted. Just then, a group of people came rushing over to me. All of them had on dark clothing and hoods over their heads. "She's bleeding!" a female voice shouted. She was wearing dark clothes like the rest of them, a gun slung over her back just the same. I looked at my sweater and saw some blood on my sweater. "What's your name?" the woman asked gently, kneeling in front of me. I backed up a bit, but she took off her hood to reveal a friendly face with a scar on her left cheek.  
  
"M-Mabel," I stuttered. "Where did you come from, Mabel?" she asked me. "Gravity Falls," I answered. "I don't recognize you though," she replied with a questioning look. "I came out of a portal," I answered. "Another dimension then?' she asked. I nodded. "Wow," she admired. "I'd give anything to visit another dimension," she continued. "Why?" I asked. "Well, this isn't the best place to live," she answered. "Where am I?" I asked her. "This is Gravity Falls. Well, in this dimension, I guess," she smiled. "Who are you?" I asked her. "My name was Kristen, but people back at base call me Scar," she answered. "Base?" I asked. She was about to answer, but a large bang sounded. "I'll explain when we get there," Scar answered, helping me to my feet. Gunshots sounded and as we kept walking, they grew louder. "Keep your head down," she whispered. She pulled me behind a car and I covered my head as a window shattered. She sneaked a peak around the car, but pulled back just as a gun was shot at the car.   
  
"Base is just in that building over there." Scar pointed to brick building that looked to be an apartment building. "How do we get there?" I questioned. "Can you shoot a gun?" she asked, pulling out a pistol. I shook my head. "I'll cover you," she said, pulling off her large gun. Scar aimed her gun at a man that looked to be part of the Time Paradox Avoidance Enforcement Squadron and fired, causing him to land with a thud. My mouth fell open and I tried to hide it to be sincere, but Scar saw it. "You get used to it," she responded, giving a shy smile and a shrug. "Let's move," she said loud enough for me to hear. Scar ran out into the battlefield, heading for the building. I was right behind her. We kept running, making it just inside the building. I launched myself in since I wasn't fast enough and I skidded across the floor. Two people closed the metal doors behind me and Scar, letting off a loud _clang!_ Scar extended a hand to me, helping me to my feet.   
  
"Come on," she smiled, leading me up a flight of stairs. We stopped after two floors, entering a room full of people from ages of what looked to be ten through thirty-eight. "Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Mabel," Scar announced, placing her hands on my shoulders. Everyone's eyes were on me. Or, what I assumed were their eyes. They all had on a pair of goggled. "H-hi," I greeted shyly. I was normally energetic around new people, but I was talking to people in a war that was happening right outside. "Sup," a boy around my age greeted me. He was wearing a dark cloak with the hood up, black pants, combat boots, and a pistol in his belt. "Where you from?" a girl a little older than me, maybe seventeen, asked, standing in front of me. "Another dimension," I answered. "Is it better than here?" she asked. "There isn't a war there," I responded. "Caleb, come show Mabel around the apartment building and have her fitted into a uniform. Oh, and check for some injuries. She was bleeding when we found her," Scar told the boy around my age. He nodded and led me out of the apartment.  
  
"So, your name is Caleb?" I asked as he led me up the stairs. "Yeah. Twelve years old," he answered. "We can talk about me later. You're the new gal," he said, looking at me. "My name's Mabel Pines. I'm twelve," I said shyly. He took off his hood and lifted his goggles, looking over me. His eyes were a light blue, but had a tough look in them. They reminded me of ice. "I knew someone with the last name Pines. Strong guy. Lost him from the enemy," Caleb sighed. "Know anything about war?" he asked. I shrugged. "I was in an apocalypse for a little bit. I accidentally came here when me and my family tried ridding him from our dimension," I explained. "That's a little how this war started," he replied, putting his goggles and hood back. "What's your last name?" I asked. "Akors," he answered. "Caleb Akors," I said aloud. We kept walking up the stairs until we found a large room with tally marks scratched onto the wall, shelves full of random items, and a desk with an old radio. "Well, uniforms are in here," he gestured, entering the room with me right behind him. 

  
"There are a few rules here. One: If you hurt anyone on purpose on this side, you're out on your own. Two: You get assigned a job based on your skills. Once assigned, you have that job until you're unable to do it, then they test your new abilities. Three: You only meet the person in charge unless he wants to see you. He usually meets the newbies during the test for which group you belong in. Four: Never take off the uniform. I don't know what your dimension was like, but supplies are limited here. Final rule we enforce pretty strictly. Five: No one here leaves unless they've got backup. We made that mistake once," Caleb sighed. "Well, let's find something your size," he said, walking over to a cabinet. "What are these tally marks for?" I asked. "How many people died," Caleb answered simply. "This looks like your size," he announced, pulling out a long black cloak, a black hoodie, black pants, black combat boots, a pair of goggles, and a pair of black gloves. "Your test is tomorrow. I'm permitted to tell you how it goes if I'd like. Change and I'll let you know," he said, handing me the uniform and left the room, closing the door behind him.  
  
I looked down at the uniform, finding a holster for any type of weapon attached to the inside of the cloak. I set down the goggles and slipped off my dirty and torn clothes, slipping on the uniform. Everything fit me pretty well, staying on my body. The cloak was the only thing that was sliding off my body a bit. A knock on the door got my attention. "May I come in?" Caleb asked. "Yeah," I answered. He stepped in, seeing the large cloak. "Maybe a size down for the cloak," he laughed, stepping back to the closet. He pulled out a slightly smaller cloak and handed it to me. I handed him the large cloak and slipped on the new cloak. It fit better. "Better," he nodded, handing me my goggles. "Whoa, little bump on your head," he pointed out. He looked at the back of my head and felt the bump with a little dried blood on his fingers. "Eh, swelling should go down soon enough. The bleeding's nothing serious," he shrugged. I slipped the goggles over my head and over my eyes and threw up the hood. "Here," Caleb said, handing me a ponytail. I slipped it over my wrist, took off my hood, and tied my long, brown hair back.   
  
"The test is simple; they lay out different types of weapons and supplies. They'll let you choose which object you take a particular interest in, then they'll assign what you will be doing. The different options are recon, medical, warrior, collector, sewer, and cook. I'm on recon," Caleb explained, leading me out of the room and down the stairs. We entered the apartment, but it was empty. "Where is everyone?" I asked. "Out. It's late, so everyone went out to set up for the morning," Caleb responded. "When there's a newbie ready for training, the most recent person finished with training, usually a kid, gets the newbie settled in uniform. We haven't had many new people for a while," he explained. "Sit. Let's talk for a while until you're assigned a room," Caleb said, sitting on the dusty couch. "You don't all live in this room?" I asked, taking a seat. "Na, not enough space then. The kids who don't have a parent get assigned a room with an adult strong enough to protect them. That woman you first met, Scar, she usually has the newbies stay with her. Strongest woman here. She's the best warrior we've got!" Caleb explained. "How did she get that scar anyway?" I asked. "Deep cut by that other Pines I was talking about. Possessed by the enemy," he scoffed. Before I could ask, Scar walked in.  
  
"Ah, I see Mabel's all settled! Did you tell her about everything she needs to know?" Scar asked. Caleb nodded. "Did you ask her about names?" Scar asked. "Nope," Caleb said, popping the 'p'. "Mabel, it's always up for option to change your name, anytime you want. I changed my name to Scar to embrace the pain by someone who was taken away from us," Scar explained. "I changed my name to Caleb because my mom told me about my dad Caleb, who died to get my mom and I back to base. They were taking me out during training for experience. My mom went undercover for info, but they found her out. My dad was a warrior and my mom was recon. I was good at recon, fighting when I had to, but never my first option. Took after my mom, but chose my dad's name," he explained. "So, keeping your name or changing your name?" I looked between the two. "I'll keep my name. Reminds me of home," I sighed. "Well, time for bed, then the selection of training tomorrow, Mabel," Scar said. I waved goodbye to Caleb and went out the door.  
  
I followed Scar across the hall to her apartment. "Well, newbies live here until they're old enough for living in another apartment with someone around their age. Being old enough means training is completed," Scar explained. "I got the bedroom closest to the door and you got the one farther away from the door. Just head down the right hallway and it's the last door on the left," Scar directed. I thanked her and headed to the bedroom. I climbed into the bed and tried falling asleep. It felt like it took a few hours, but I eventually drifted off.  
  
Caleb's POV  
I stood up and stretched, feeling my eyes go a little heavy. For some reason, all I could think of was Mabel. She was a little... mysterious. Nobody here has heard of someone traveling through dimensions for a while. I didn't understand exactly how he wasn't stranded here like Mabel. His head came in, then it was out. Only me and my mom had seen him, but we didn't think much of it then. Now, Mabel was stuck here. I only remember him wearing a lab coat and he had messy light brown hair. I shrugged it off and headed for my apartment. My roommate is supposed to be the next person to join recon. I locked the door and headed to bed, keeping my pistol close at hand like everyone else does. I drifted off into sleep soon enough, thinking of the new gal.


	13. Outside the Portal

Mabel's POV  
I looked over at Dipper, seeing his eyes watery, and a girl around our age I've never met in either this dimension or the one I just got out of. "Mabel," Dipper repeated. He got to his feet and stepped closer to me, his arms extended. My fists clenched, going up in one swift movement, smashing into Dipper's jaw. "What- MABEL?! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Dipper shouted at me. "Ford didn't want Stan opening that portal, so why do you think I wanted you to?! You dragged someone else into this! I was this close, Dipper! THIS! CLOSE!" I shouted, pinching my fingers, but not exactly together. "You hadn't shut down the machine when Stan was saving Ford!" Dipper shot back.  
  
"Um, hey?" the girl asked. "Sorry, y/n! Y/n, this is my twin, Mabel! Mabel, this is my friend y/n. She came to Gravity Falls to become a monster hunter," Dipper explained. "A monster hunter? From some girl wanting to be a monster hunter, you show her THIS?!" I hissed at Dipper. "Dipper, it's something more urgent!" y/n pressed, pointing at the corner of the room. "Y/n, go get a jar," Dipper ordered, looking at what looked to be a piece of space. Y/n left the basement and headed up to the shack. "YOU IDIOT!" I shouted, smacking Dipper, leaving his face red. He felt at his cheek, shutting his eyes tight. I caught sight of a familiar triangle with his wheel start glowing a bit. "No. What did you DO?!" I shouted. "We found out it only glows when he's close!" I exclaimed. The elevator dinged and I saw y/n's arm glowing as well. "We're talking about this in a minute. All three of us need to talk," I muttered. Y/n rushed in, jar in hand. She undid the lid, scooping up the growing rift. "Got it," she breathed.   
  
"Now, we can go talk about what we need to solve," I said, leading the way out of the basement.   
  
Y/n's POV  
I didn't expect anything like that. I knew there had to be some issues between the two, but Dipper only told me about how sweet Mabel was. Then again, she's seventeen now. The elevator opened and I clutched the jar tighter. "I need to grab something," Dipper said, heading up to his room. Mabel and I went to the living room, sitting at the table in silence. Mabel kept staring at the door to the gift shop, like she was expecting something. "So," I started, breaking the silence. She snapped her head to face me, her eyes glaring at me, but easing up a little. "Yeah?" she asked. "I was just, ah... wondering," I stuttered. "Yeah?" she repeated. "What, ah, happened in that portal? If, you know, want to," I stuttered nervously. I didn't want to offend her of anything. "I'd rather not," Mabel answered, turning her attention back to the gift shop door.  
  
Just then, Dipper walked in with what seemed to be a stronger containment unit with a black and yellow warning pattern as the base and a circular dome with connecting tombs. "Okay. I'm going to unscrew this piece of the tube and I need you to open the lid slightly to let the rift be sucked into this containment unit," Dipper explained. I nodded and unscrewed the lid the tiniest bit, letting the other tubes bring in the rift. "One less thing to worry about," Mabel sighed in relief. "Not exactly," I said shyly. "Dipper, what did you and y/n do?" Mabel asked, on her feet. "He threatened y/n's life! What else was I supposed to do?!" Dipper shot back.   
  
I kept quiet, listening to the two bickering. "Why, Dipper! No matter what I was going through, I could have made it!" she shouted. "What did you go through?" Dipper asked, lowering his voice from the yelling. Mabel just looked back over to the Gift Shop. "I'd rather not say," she muttered. "Well, then you didn't like it there!" Dipper shouted again. Mabel whipped around to face us, her cloak flying behind her. "You're right. I didn't like it there. But the people I met needed help. They let me leave, but I didn't like leaving them behind." Dipper and I stayed quiet for a bit.   
  
"I'll give Bill the rift then," Mabel muttered. "Can't we just-" Dipper started, but Mabel cut him off. "No! No, we can't! No matter how mad I am on you doing that deal and getting y/n involved, we still gotta keep her safe!" Mabel shouted, grabbing the rift. I rushed over to the two, taking the rift from Mabel's hands. "Would you two just stop fighting?! We all have Bill to worry about, so you two need to pull it together until we're out of this mess!" I shouted, holding the rift close to me. They froze, facing me. "Finally! Now, we KEEP the rift for now, until Bill realizes we have a rift. Dipper put up another force field to keep Bill out, so we have to keep the rift a secret. Meanwhile, Dipper and I will find a way to patch the rift. Dipper said he knows how to, so we'll patch the rift up," I explained. They nodded.  
  
"Dipper, go pack a bag. We're heading out as soon as we're ready. Mabel, go ahead and change clothes if you want. Stay here to keep Bill from knowing. We'll take the rift so we can fix it sooner," I ordered. Dipper headed up to his room while Mabel headed to the attic. I ran down the hall, grabbing my bag. I swiftly slipped off my dirty clothes, pulling on a pair of jean shorts, f/c tee shirt, my favorite tennis shoes, and pulled my hair up in a ponytail. Grabbing my bag, I rushed to the gift shop, watching Dipper come out of the vending machine with the first journal and a bag. "Let's go. Rift's in my bag," he panted. We ran out the door and into the forest, Dipper flipping through the journal.   
  
"Where to then?" I panted. "Just to those floating cliffs," Dipper answered. I nodded, picking up my speed and Dipper at my side. Soon enough, we made it to the cliffs, skidding to a stop. "Okay, the UFO entrance is right under that rock," he muttered, pushing aside the rock to reveal a metal hatch. "Wow," I breathed. "I grabbed the magnet guns, so we may be able to keep going quickly," Dipper planned, tossing me a magnet gun. I tossed it back and forth through my hands, getting a feel for it. "How long should this take?" I asked, Dipper opening part of the UFO with his magnet gun. "Hopefully, maybe a half hour or so," Dipper answered, climbing down the hatch. I followed close behind.


	14. Patching Up a Rift is Hard Work

Y/N's P.O.V  
The ruins of what once was a brilliant alien space ship was now covered with moss and was rotting away. I had to admit, it made me feel kind of sad, seeing such a brilliant structure slowly turning to nothing. I looked around in awe at the different panels and contraptions that seemed to be from millions of years forwards, and Dipper seemed to notice.  
"You seem insanely fascinated with all of this technology," he chuckled.  
"It's amazing. To think that a species that isn't even human could create something that is even more sophisticated than anything we'll come up with for years... it's phenomenal!"  
"It is pretty interesting, especially because this could lead to the proof of aliens actually existing."  
"Is that what you want to focus on after all of this portal business is over? Proving that aliens actually exist."  
"No... I find aliens too cliché as far as the supernatural goes."  
"Yet, here we are, standing in an alien spaceship with you mentioning the fact that it could prove that said cliché aliens were real." My rambling sentence caused both Dipper and myself to chuckle, temporarily letting go of the weight of our task that was bearing down on our shoulders. However, it quickly came back as a dire question popped into my head.  
"Dipper, what will happen if Bill gets his hands on the rift? You seemed to understand that something bad would happen..." Dipper sighed deeply, seemingly reluctant to tell me what he seemed to know.  
"Bill would... he would..." Dipper stopped walking and looked at me. "Never mind that, (y/n). As long as we get this adhesive onto the rift, it won't happen, okay?" I sighed, my curiosity getting the better of me.  
"Dipper, I want to know what would happen. Just because I ask doesn't mean it will actually happen, right?" Dipper still seemed a little reluctant, but I flashed him a gaze with wide, (e/c), puppy dog eyes, and he caved. He looked directly into my eyes and I felt my heart flutter.  
"The end of the world would happen." I gasped, not sure what I really expected him to say. "Bill would cause an apocalypse of weirdness and try to destroy our world in hopes of making a new, 'better' one." He put air quotes around the word 'better,' to demonstrate that this world would actually be chaos.  
"Dipper... is that what you had to go through when you were twelve?" He nodded somberly, and an odd impulse took over, causing me to hug him. He seemed a little shocked at first, but he hugged back, giving a mutual sense of comfort. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. It must have been horrible." I pushed back and looked him straight in the eyes, a serious look on my face. "I promise, with all the power I have, I will prevent that from happening." He smiled just a tiny bit, as if feeling reassured.  
"Thanks, (y/n). Now, let's find that adhesive." Dipper and I walked for a little longer, but there was a suffocating silence, clearly from Dipper being lost in thought. I continued to marvel at the technology, looking at the walls of worn-down panels that seemed to go from floor to ceiling. I was so fascinated with the technology, in fact, that I failed to notice a stack of metal plates, and tripped right over them. I would have landed face-first, if it had not been for my fast reflexes, allowing me to stick out my arms and catch myself. Dipper raced over and helped me up.  
"(Y/n)! Are you alright?" I stood up and chuckled a little bit.   
"Yes, I'm fine. I just have the coordination of a living fish on land." Dipper laughed at my joke, then looked down at what I had tripped on. His eyes went wide and he picked up a panel. A glowing, purple substance rested on it, looking as if it had the consistency of glue. "Is that the adhesive?"  
"Yes! You found it, (y/n)! Great job!" Dipper placed it in his bag and we began to walk away, feeling triumphant, until I heard an odd noise. Dipper and I froze.  
"What's that?" I whispered, my heart rate quickly increasing.  
"I think they're security robots... If that's the case, when I say so, we run."  
"Shouldn't everything down here be dead?"  
"Robots never die. They were active years ago, and clearly, they're still active now." The sound got closer and closer. "Now! Run, (y/n)!" He took off and I did the same, not far behind. My heart was beating out of my chest, my breathing rapid, my vision slightly blurred. We sprinted and raced, going through twisting and turning halls, and eventually, I saw the light leading to the exit.  
"(Y/n)! We're almost there!" Hope filled my chest, but it quickly dropped when I felt the hood of my sweatshirt snag on something, and I fell back, landing back-first on the floor.  
"Dipper! Help!" Dipper whipped around and raced over, attempting to unhook my hood from whatever it had been caught on. The noise of the robots got closer and closer. "Hurry!" I screamed.  
"Almost... there..." Dipper moved his hands one last time and I felt a tremendous weight leave my shoulders. "Alright, let's go!" He grabbed my hand and helped me to the ladder. We climbed up quickly and shut the hatch, heart rates slowing down. Dipper and I collapsed into the grass and allowed ourselves to calm down.  
"Thanks for the save back there," I panted.  
"No problem. My Grunkle Ford got kidnapped by one of those things, and it was really tough to get him back. I didn't want you to have to go through that. Now, let's patch up that rift here." Dipper pulled the rift out of his bag, along with the panel with the adhesive, and a tool used for scraping it off. Carefully and precisely, he put the adhesive around the glass. I smiled at him once he put the rift back, and we both made our way back to the Mystery Shack.


	15. Things Are Officially Getting Complicated

Y/N's P.O.V  
The vending machine practically slammed shut behind Dipper, causing me to jump a mile high. Dipper chuckled and I looked back at him.  
"We just escaped from security robots that could have killed us, and you're afraid of the sound of the vending machine closing?" He teased.  
"Yes, don't judge me." I paused and took in a breath, then spoke again. "Thanks again for the save back there. You saved my life. I have no idea how I can repay you."  
"You really don't have to." His smile made my cheeks get warm. I was grateful for the lack of light that could hide them, or at least make them look like it was part of the lantern's light. "But if I think of anything, I'll let you know." We descended down the stairs and made our way to the room with the portal. The doors opened and I saw Mabel standing there, picking up pieces of debris opening the portal had created. She was now wearing a bright sweater that looked like a Picasso painting, with plain, washed jeans. I walked over to her and smiled. She did the same, and I noticed how perfect her teeth were.   
_Did she ever even **need** braces? _I thought to myself.  
"What was it like inside the portal?" I found myself asking. "Sorry if that was an odd question. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."   
"It's fine." Her laugh sounded much like Dipper's, but more feminine. "It was like something from a science fiction novel. Everyone was wearing steampunk-like outfits, and they all had futuristic weapons, and everything was dark and desolate. There were little children fighting for their lives, and elderly people who were on the brink of death, firing guns and trying to defend the people. There was a part of it that was enchanting, but at the same time, terrifying and sad."  
"It sort of sounds like this dimension. People are always standing up for each other, no matter how old they are."  
"That's very true... but that world was both a dream and a nightmare."  
"Both a nightmare and a dream..." I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "Anything created by Bill should just be a straight up nightmare." Mabel looked at me, sadness behind her cheerful brown eyes.  
"It was a complete nightmare, (y/n). Everything was terrifying and sad. I was surrounded by death. But a nightmare is only a bad dream, right? That made it both a dream and a nightmare."  
"Mabel, you just made part of my brain melt out my ear," I joked. At that moment, Dipper walked into the room, and my heart did an odd fluttering thing.  
_Why am I feeling like this?_ I thought, though deep inside, I knew the answer.  
"All right, Mabel. The rift is officially sealed away. If Bill somehow gets into the shack, it should still be safe."  
"Somehow gets into the shack?" I was deeply confused. "Shouldn't it be easy for him to get in?"  
"No. There was this whole debacle with unicorn hair, like the one we got earlier, and now there's this barrier protecting us from Bill."  
"Celestabelleabethabelle is dead to me..." Mabel muttered under her breath, causing me to laugh.  
"Damn Celestabelleabethabelle," I sighed, then made a joke. "That's quite a name. Should we submit it for competing as the world's longest word?"  
"Well, how many letters does it have?" Dipper asked seriously. I counted them in my head.  
"Twenty three... Sadly, not enough."  
"How many does the longest word have?"  
"One-hundred-and-eighty-nine-thousand, eight-hundred-nineteen." Dipper smiled at me.  
"You remembered that?"  
"Yeah. I know, I'm such a dork." Dipper shook his head, causing his chocolate brown hair to shake and fly everywhere.  
"No, that's super cool. I would never be able to remember a number that large, let alone that it belonged to the world's longest word."  
"It's not that impressive, considering I don't remember what the word is."  
"All right then, if you're so adamant on not acknowledging how gifted you are, then you just lost ten smart points."  
"That's fine. I had a negative score to begin with." At this point, both of us were laughing so hard that I barely noticed the tattoo on mine and Dipper's arms glowing a faint yellow until Mabel pointed it out.  
"Hey, Dipper, (y/n)?" We both stopped laughing and looked at her, noticing her pointing to our arms. "Should your tattoos be glowing like that?" We both looked down at our arms, then snapped our heads back up, concern lacing our expressions like ribbons.  
"Bill's coming." I could feel my heart rate increasing and my breathing getting shorter.  
"Hey, hey, (y/n), relax." He pulled me into a hug, but that only caused my pulse to quicken more. "As long as we stay in the shack, we should be safe, all right?"  
"No, Dipper. He's not going to go away until we deal with him." I looked him in his deep brown eyes, and I melted a little. "Whatever he wants, we have to refuse."  
"But if we do that, he'll just keep nagging us until we agree."  
"Then maybe I'll just have to agree."  
"What? No! (Y/n), you can't do that! If you agree, you could become Bill's slave for the rest of your life!"  
"If it gets rid of him..."  
"No, (y/n). We'll find another way to get him to leave us alone." He grabbed my hand and I blushed red, then led me outside. We stood outside the perimeters of the shack, and stood there, his hand still linked in mine. After only a few seconds, the world turned to grey scale, and Bill appeared before us, in his handsome human form rather than his usual triangle shape. I looked him in the eye and felt ferocity build up in me.  
"What do you want Bill?" Dipper snapped, the grip on my hand tightening, causing my heart to flutter again.  
"Hahaha, nothing from you, Pine Tree. I only want to speak to Petals." He snapped his fingers and Dipper disappeared from the landscape.  
"Dipper!" I cried, looking around. I angrily turned to face Bill and was ready to destroy him right here.  
"What do you want, freak?" I spat, resisting the urge to punch Bill.  
"Calm down, Petals. I just wanted to make an offer to you."  
"Let me hear it. The more I know, the easier it will be for me to refuse."  
"You might change your mind after you hear this." He sat on the ground and gestured for me to do the same, and I complied. "I can tell that you and Pine Tree have feelings for each other. As cute and sickening as that is, I can tell you that it won't end well."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"If you keep going down this road, one of you is going to die."  
"That can't be possible."  
"Oh, but it is, Petals, and I can assure you that it's Pine Tree."  
"No..."  
"Oh yes. But I'm willing to change that for a small fee."  
"Just hurry up and tell me what you want."  
"I want you to be my assistant."  
"What does _that_ mean?"  
"It means I'd make you a Dream Demon, and you'd help me whenever I call. In exchange, both you and Dipper's lives would be saved, and you could happily live together, yadda, yadda, yadda." I was still skeptical.  
"How do I know that if I don't accept, Dipper will die?"  
"Trust me Petals. I would never lie to you, ever." He held out his arm and blue fire glowed. "What do you say."  
"Show me how he dies!" I spat out quickly.  
"Pardon me?"  
"Show me how Dipper dies. I want solid evidence." Bill sighed.  
"Fine, but you're only harming yourself." He made his way over to me, then placed his hands on my head. In a moment, I was standing there, looking at Dipper, Mabel, and myself. The three of us were coated in blood and guts for some reason, and we all seemed worn out. Out of nowhere, Dipper was snatched off the ground, and was dropped into the jaws of a monster, like something from an anime I once saw. I screamed and dropped to the ground, and was brought out of the vision. I screamed and fell back, away from Bill, and looked at him.  
"All right, all right, you've proved your point."  
"So, Petals, is it a deal or not?" He once again held out his hand, blue fire blazing. I looked down at the hand, then back up at him. I sighed. I _had_ to protect Dipper, to keep him and Mabel together, but who knows what Bill would do to me and them.  
"Deal." I shook his hand.


	16. Go On a Date With Me, Then We'll Talk

Dipper's P.O.V  
I woke up back in the Mystery Shack with (y/n) sitting on Mabel's bed, looking at the wall above my head. Small memories flashed in my head of what happened. I slowly sat up and looked at (y/n), who seemed so lost in thought that she didn't notice. Her (e/c) orbs glittered with exhaustion and being lost in the distance, and she didn't even notice that a small chunk of her (h/l), (h/c) hair had fallen in front of her line of vision. I smiled at how beautiful she was.  
"(Y/n)?" She snapped out of whatever thoughts she was having and looked at me with a half-smile. "Are you alright? Did Bill do anything to you?" She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head, (h/l) locks flying.  
"He tried to make a deal with me, but... I refused."  
"You refused, and he left you alone? That seems very rare for Bill, if not impossible."   
"It's true. He tried to make a deal with me, but I held my ground and refused." I looked at her and sighed deeply. Her eyes seemed to almost be brimming with tears.  
"(Y/n), something seems wrong. Are you all right?" She looked at me with guilt crawling all over her face. I stood and walked over to her. "You need to tell me." (Y/n) inhaled sharply and then blurted out her words.  
"Go on a date with me, then we'll talk." I was shocked and taken aback by what she had said. I wasn't unhappy, however. I could feel my blush deepening.  
"I'd love to, (y/n)." Her guilty and sad expression turned into a happy and relieved one.  
"Wow Dipper... I didn't think you'd say yes. Thank you so much! I'll go get ready." She hugged me, then walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.  
  
Y/N's P.O.V  
I shut the door that belonged to the room that was now mine. A deep sigh escaped my lips and I slumped down against the wall.   
"Hahaha, you seem so troubled, Petals." I looked up at human Bill with tired, annoyed eyes.  
"How did Dipper not sense you there? How did his tattoo not glow?"   
"A little bit of magic, darling. He'll never know about you or myself."   
_That's going to change today_ , I thought to myself. I turned to Bill, back in his triangle form, and scowled.  
"Could you not look. I'm going to change now." Bill sighed and faced the wall as I slipped into a teal top, white pants, and mint green flat-esque shoes. I put on some jewelry, then snatched my purse and flung open my bedroom door. Dipper stood by the front door, wearing a vest, orange shirt, and long, grey jeans. I offered a tiny, nervous smile, and he suddenly grabbed my hand, causing my already red cheeks to get even brighter. He looked down at me and smiled.   
"I know this little place in the woods. Would you mind going there and talking at the same time."  
"Y-you really want to know what's happening, don't you?"  
"Of course. There's something wrong with you, and I'm determined to know what it is. I want you to be happy." I sighed deeply, realizing there was no getting out of telling him. I glanced over at Bill, then back at Dipper.  
"That sounds amazing. Let's good."  
_**[I'll spare you the details of ten minutes filled with silent walking]  
  
**_I looked over a small waterfall, lazily rolling over rough rocks, not yet fully shaped by the erosion the clear substance would eventually cause. Dipper took my hand again and led me to a small group of rocks. He sat on one, and I on one next to him, trying not to look at him and hoping that he would forget. Much to my disappointment, he had not.  
"All right, (y/n). Tell me what's wrong, without leaving out _anything_ I should know."  
"Where do I begin..." I muttered.  
"Why not start at the beginning." I looked at him and stared into his deep, brown eyes. I didn't know if I could do this. Could I hurt him like this? If I told him, would Bill change our deal? Would Dipper no longer be safe? I couldn't risk it. I had to come up with something else that could be bugging me.  
"I... uh... I..."  
"(Y/n), you can tell me. It's all right."  
"I just wanted to tell you that..." I came up with something. "I just wanted to tell you that I've found you very attractive since we met, and I really wanted to go on a date with you, and I've realized that I really like you!" My words came out fast, like a cheetah running, and I found that I had closed my eyes. I slowly opened them, looking at him. He had this soft, handsome smile stretched across his pale face.  
"(Y/n), is that all you needed to say?"  
"Yeah. Is that too... clichè?"  
  
Dipper's P.O.V  
I looked into (y/n)'s (e/c) orbs, smiling. She had just admitted to liking me!  
"Yeah. Is that too... clichè?"  
"What? No, of course not. In fact, it felt amazing to hear it, coming from you."  
"Really?" Her eyes were full of relief, yet there was slight apprehension, too. "Dipper, I-" I quickly leaned over and kissed her cheek. She looked at me with wide eyes, then took my hand.  
"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, can we enjoy this date?"  
"Of course."


	17. Just Because I Don't Have To Doesn't Mean I Won't

Your P.O.V  
My stomach twisted and turned inside of me. I was feeling extremely guilty. I had just lied to Dipper _while we were on a date._ If he found out what I was hiding, would he be angry? There was a knock on the door to my room, and I jumped, my heart speeding up to practically unhealthy speeds.  
"W-who is it?" I called, trying not to sound nervous.  
"It's Mabel." I let out a breath of relief, happy I wouldn't have to try to act normal around Dipper.  
"Come on in." Mabel opened the door and smiled at me, sitting on my bed. I had already changed back into sweatpants and a tee-shirt, and had been comfortable, with the exception of my gnawing-inner guilt. Mabel offered a bright smile and sat down next to me.  
"I heard that you went on a date with my brother!" She practically squealed out the sentence. I rolled my eyes, but a smile graced my lips.  
"You seem very excited about this. It wasn't even your date," I laughed. Mabel began laughing, too, and we were both soon breaking down in a fit of laughing. As soon as we stopped laughing, Mabel spoke again.  
"You know, you're really special to Dipper. You're the first girl he's ever had a chance with, no offense to my brother. He's liked one other girl in his life, and she was way too old and too cool for him. At least, I _thought_ she was too cool for him, but now that he's gone out with you, I guess if she were younger, he could have had a chance."  
"He liked an older girl? That's crazy!"  
"Yeah, her name was Wendy."  
"Are you seriously spilling about my embarrassing past?" We both looked over at the doorway to see Dipper standing there, leaning against the frame. I chuckled and smiled at him.  
"Oh yes. She was about to tell me _all_ about when you were really young."  
"No, Mabel! Don't you _dare_ bring up the lamby dance." He came over and got his sister up off my bed and pushed her out of the room. He shut the door behind him and sat down on my bed. His face went from happy to serious, however, speeding up my heart rate once again. "(Y/n), we need to talk, right now." I swallowed hard and looked at him with trembling eyes.  
"What's-what's wrong?"  
"You're working with Bill, aren't you?" I was taken aback, and nearly fell off my bed.  
"How did you figure that out?"  
"You've been acting really suspicious since after you met with Bill. He one time took my soul out of my body and possessed me. Tell me, (y/n): what did he do to you?"  
"Dipper I swear, he-" Dipper looked at me with suspicious brown eyes, and I let out a deep sigh. "He showed me... that you... would die... at the end of our adventure... so I made a deal with him... that I would work for him... and you would be safe..." Tears quickly formed in my eyes, and I tackled him into a hug, wanting to hold him to make sure he was here and okay. "But I swear, Dipper, I wouldn't let him do anything bad to anyone, and I won't let him get the rift." I began bawling, and Dipper wrapped his arms around my waist, comforting me.  
"(Y/n), you lied to me."  
"Dipper," I managed to choke out between sobs, "trust me. If I had a dollar for every time I lied to you, I'd be poor. And I meant what I said back there, at the water. I really like you, Dipper. You're so much different from every other guy I've met. Please believe me when I say I did this because I want to protect you, and I'm keeping a close eye on Bill." I snuggled closer into his embrace as the tears slowed. There was a cackle, and the world turned to grey-scale. I knew Bill was here. I didn't turn around.  
"Guess you know her secret now, Pine Tree. What are you going to do, hmm? Don't forget, she's my property now, so if you hurt her, I'll pound your face off." I could feel Dipper getting angry.  
"Your property?" He growled. "(Y/n) is no one's property! She's a person."  
"Petals is only part of a human now. She works for me, so she has quite a bit of dream demon in her. So I ask again: what are you going to do?"  
"I-I... I'm going to help her in protecting the rift and the new portal from you. And I'm still going to love her, just as I did when I met her. This changes nothing, Bill. She did this to try and save me, and that's noble enough to keep her with me." Bill cackled evilly.   
"You're very determined to keep each other safe, but it might be your undoing. I'm warning you, Pine Tree. If anything bad happens to Petals, I'll set your fate right back to where it should be. I'll be watching." The world went back to normal, and I cried into Dipper's chest once again.  
"I'm so sorry all of this has happened! I made a huge mistake!"  
"Hey... hey..." He stroked my hair affectionately. "We all make that mistake at one time or another. Bill is really tricky, and he's good at manipulating people. To be honest... it's kind of hot that you're doing anything you can to try and protect me."  
"Huh?"  
"And because you're doing anything you can to protect me, I'm going to do the same thing for you. (Y/n), if you ever need anything, tell me right away. You're welcome to be around me anytime, if it makes you feel safe. I love you, (y/n), and now I'm going to protect you." I sniffled and looked up at Dipper with affection in my eyes.  
"Thank you Dipper. You really don't have to do this." He kissed my forehead.  
"Just because I don't have to, doesn't mean I won't. I'm going to protect you from Bill. I promise." I snuggled into his arms and fell asleep within moments.


	18. I've Seen This All Before... And It Might End Well

Y/N's P.O.V.  
_"Bill! Bill, you said he would be all right! You said that if I made this deal with you, he wouldn't die!"_  
 _"Hahaha! Did you really think you could trust me, Petals? You made a dumb mistake, and now you'll pay the consequences." Using his powers, Bill lifted Dipper up in the air and dangled him over a cliff.  
"Dipper!"_  
  
Screams, tears, and sweat were all that made up my body when I woke up. Dipper was long gone, likely safe and asleep in his own bed by now. I shook and shivered on my own, terrified at what I had seen. Was this the truth? Had I made a wrong turn that was even more fatal than the outcome without the deal? Paranoia flooded through me as the possibility that Bill was in my mind, creating these dreams and thoughts, crossed through my mindscape. The door suddenly flung open, causing me to scream bloody murder and fling the hairbrush on the nightstand at the being in the rotting doorway.   
"Whoa!" The being jumped out of the way, and after recovering from shock, raced over to me. I didn't even have time to see who it was once he stepped into the light, he was moving so fast, but as soon as the strong, protective arms wrapped around my trembling body, I knew exactly who it was.   
"(Y/n), (y/n)! You're safe, you're okay! It was just a nightmare."  
"How do you know it wasn't Bill manipulating my fragile mind!"  
"Shh! You're going to wake Mabel!"  
"To Hell with Mabel being awake! Bill might be in my mind and listening to all of this right now!"  
"(Y/n)! Get ahold of yourself! If you were possessed by Bill, your eyes would be yellow, and you wouldn't be saying these things." The storm died down, and I sniffled as Dipper rocked me back and forth in his lap and stroke my hair: a familiar scene from just earlier today. The sweet brunette sighed deeply, as if about to reveal something deep and personal.   
"(Y/n), I have to tell you something." I wiped my puffy eyes and looked up at him lovingly. "Everything that's happening right now- the portal, Mabel, Bill, the nightmares, the rift- it's all happened before."  
"What?"  
"Back when I was twelve, this all happened, but with Mabel and my Grunkles in place of you, Mabel, and I. Mabel and I were just sort of... there. But that's not the point. The point is that I've seen this all before, and it might end well."  
"What do you mean 'might?'"  
"Well, the town was able to defeat Bill last time, but some even or person resurrected him, and now he's even more powerful."  
"Do you think it was the re-activation of the portal?"  
"That could be, or some person that really wanted to see the end of the world. Either way, (y/n), remember this: everything in Gravity Falls happens for a reason, and everything works out in the end, one way or another." He kissed the top of my head and smiled. "Now get some sleep. It's been a long day for both of us." I shook my head violently.   
"There's no way I'll be able to sleep now."  
"I'll stay with you tonight." Dipper places me under the covers, then climbed in next to me. I huddled close to his body and sighed.   
"Goodnight, Dipper."  
"Goodnight, (y/n)."


	19. Threats, Best Regards, and Sadness

(Y/N)'s P.O.V.  
I woke up feeling a deeper warmth than I normally did. My eyes slowly fluttered open, and I found myself directly facing the sleeping visage of Dipper. He was snoring the tiniest bit, to a small enough degree where it was cute and irritation free. At least he didn't snore like my dad, who was loud and obnoxious, waking up everyone in the household. I sighed and pulled myself out of his arms, slowly tip-toeing out so that I could go and take a shower. After getting completely clean, I threw on some sweats and a tank top, then went downstairs to eat some food. However, I got sidetracked when I saw the pile of old and new mail sitting on the table. There were a few piles, but one in particular caught my interest: the one with the letters, still left in their envelopes, addressed to (y/n).   
They were _all_ from my mother.  
With shaky legs and hands, I sat down and slowly opened each letter, accumulating from a week after I left until now. The first one scared me, but as they went, they got more and more desperate.  
_(Y/n),  
You ran away? How dare you? I've given you a week to come home on your own, but you haven't. Now I'm requesting that you come home, and if you don't, I will make sure that someone there sends you home.  
I expect to see you back in a week.  
-Your mother.  
_I sighed. Had Dipper opened these? It would be the only explanation for why I was still here. I would have been sent home in any other scenario. I opened the next one and a rusty knife of guilt struck my chest.  
_(Y/n),  
I'm sorry if my last letter came off as too harsh. I'm just very worried about you, being off in a town where you don't know anyone. I know you want more than anything to be a monster hunter, but those creatures just don't exist. Please, if you're going to stay in Gravity Falls, take up a more stable profession, like a doctor or a lawyer. I want you to be happy, but I also want you to survive.  
Please write back soon,  
Mom  
_She was really worried about me, but at the same time, I scoffed. Monsters do, in fact, exist, and I will _never_ , in my life, take up such a boring job. My mother acted like she knew me best, but she really didn't. I tore open the next one with a heavy chest.  
_(Y/n),  
It's pretty clear to me, at this point, that you are not coming home. Your life in Gravity Falls is clearly better than any one I could give you here. If you are truly going to stay there, then I hope you prove me wrong and find some monsters you can capture. Just never forget that I love you more than anything...  
... are my letters even reaching you?  
Love,  
Your mother  
_I could barely finish reading the letter, there were so many tears in my eyes. However, I decided to be brave and write back. I tip-toed into my room and grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen. If I messed up, I could always cross it out. Ever so gently, I slid out the chair from the kitchen table, sat down, and began to write.  
_Mom, I'm really sorry I haven't written since I came here. Someone, though I'm not sure who, was hiding these letters from me.  
_I had just written a blatant lie. I knew very well who was hiding the letters from me.  
_That's not important, however. What is important is how I'm doing away from home. Things are pretty good. I met a nice pair of twins my age, and I'm currently staying with them. They're quite into the supernatural themselves, and we've even found quite a bit themselves, and we've even found a large bit of unnatural beings, like unicorns and Dream Demons.  
_I decided to skip over the detail that I had sort of become one myself.  
_I think if I keep living here, I'll be able to make a pretty steady living. I'm really sorry, but that means I won't be coming home anytime soon. Now that I know you're sending me letters, I promise I'll write more often. I'll come visit as soon as I can.  
Love,  
(Y/n)  
_"What are you writing?"  
I practically jumped fifty feet in the air, and ended up throwing my pen to who-knows-where. I looked up from the creamy piece of paper to see Dipper, hair a mess and looking slightly groggy, leaning against the kitchen door frame. Before I could do anything with it, Dipper strode over and snatched the paper from the table. As he read, his face fell more and more. Once he finished, he looked up at me with sad eyes.  
"I'm guessing you found the letters?" I sighed and looked at him with slightly angry, (e/c) eyes.   
"Why were they hidden from me?" Dipper picked up one of the ones my mother had written to me and shrugged his shoulders. I furrowed my eyebrows.  
"I have no idea." I crossed my arms, not believing him at first.  
"Are you telling the truth? Who else could have done this?" He shrugged again.  
"I'm not sure... I know Mabel really loves having you around. Maybe she-"  
"You found them?" We both whipped around to see Mabel standing there, looking as if she were on the brink of tears.  
"Mabel," I approached her delicately and placed a hand on her shoulder, "were you the one that hid the letters from my mom?" She nodded sadly. "Why did you hide them?"  
"The letters wanted you to go home, and I didn't want you to leave! You're here with Dipper, who you love, and... I've never really had another girl around, except for Wendy, so when I came back and found a girl my age, I was so happy." I smiled and Mabel and hugged her tight.  
"I promise I'm not going anywhere, Mabel. I love this place too much, and there is _nothing_ that would make me want to leave."  
"Do you promise?" She sniffled and wiped the just-forming-tears in her eyes.  
"Yes, I promise." There was a rapid knock on the door, and I walked over to answer it. As soon as I did, the person standing on the opposite side practically tackled me.  
"(Y/n)! Thank God, you're alive!"   
Panic filled me quickly as I took in who they were.


	20. The Crazy Woman at the Door Causes Trouble

Dipper's P.O.V  
I walked to the door, where (y/n) stood, dumbfounded. I came over and placed my hand on her lower back, drinking in the woman standing in front of us. She was (y/m/h), with (y/m/h/c), and bright (y/m/e/c) that perfectly complemented her features. I had an idea who she was, but I wanted to make sure.  
"(Y/n), who is this?" She sighed and looked at me with desperate (e/c) eyes, then back at the woman.  
"Dipper, this is my mother, (y/m/n). Mom, this is my... boyfriend... Dipper." She used a questioning tone on the word 'boyfriend,' as if she weren't sure. I reached out to shake her hand, and she took it, looking at me with skeptical eyes. I could see the resemblance between (y/n) and here mom when she made those faces.  
"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. (l/n). I was wondering when I might be able to meet the mother of my girlfriend." I said the word with confidence, assuring (y/n) what I considered us. She smiled at me lightly and I felt relief wash over me. Her mother seemed to like me, at least a little bit.  
"It's very nice to meet you, Dipper. You seem like a very nice young man." Her (y/m/e/c) orbs sparkled just like (y/n)'s when she smiled.  
"Would you like to come in, ma'am?" She nodded and we parted so that (y/n)'s mother could come inside. "Would you like anything? Some food or water?"  
"No thank you, Dipper. I would just like to sit down."  
"Here, I'll show you to the living area." I showed Mrs. (l/n) to the small living room and she sat down on the large, yellow chair. She smiled and thanked me. I hoped I was making a good impression. (Y/n) and I sat down at the table, looking at her.  
"Mom, I hate to sound rude, but what are you doing here?" Her mom's gaze seemed to harden for a moment, but her eyes softened when she looked at her daughter.  
"You never wrote back to me, so I got really worried that you had died. I decided to come here and find out for myself."  
"How did you figure out where I was staying if I never told you?" She held up her phone and waved it a little bit.  
"You have a tracking function on your phone." (Y/n) rolled her gorgeous (e/c) orbs, then looked at me with desperation.  
"Dipper, can I talk to you outside for a moment." Her mother's eyes turned to slits, but I nodded and we both stood and walked out. (Y/n) shut the door behind us, leaving us in the cool, crisp morning air.  
"What's wrong?" She sighed deeply and I grabbed one of her hands, lacing my fingers through her's.  
"My mother isn't just here to make sure I'm alive, I know it. She's going to find things wrong with this place and convince me to come home."  
"Why would she do that? Doesn't she want you to be happy?"  
"She doesn't believe in this whole 'monster hunting' career. She wants me to do something that she deems acceptable." Suddenly, (y/n)'s face went pale, and she began shaking just a little bit.   
"(Y/n)? (Y/n), what's wrong?" She shook her head and swallowed hard.  
"I just remembered two things that could ruin everything."  
"What would those be?"  
"Bill and me being part Dream Demon, of course." I hugged her close to my chest and rocked back and forth a little bit, then kissed her forehead.  
"If he does come, we both know how to deal with him. Besides, he'll likely leave your mother alone. What would he want with her?"  
"It's Bill, Dipper. He can find a way to work every angle with every person." I kissed her lips reassuringly, then opened the door.  
"Let's go inside and talk to your mother some more. If things ever get rocky, don't forget I'm right here, whenever you need me."  
"Thanks, Dipper." I took her hand and we both walked in, but when we got into the living room, (y/n)'s mom wasn't there.  
"Mom?" (Y/n) called. "Mom, where are you?" We walked into the main part of the house, where the Mystery Shack gift shop was, and I noticed the vending machine door was wide open.  
"(Y/n)..." She turned her attention to the open door and here eyes went wide.  
"Oh no... How did she even get down there?" We raced down the stairs and into the elevator, wishing it could go faster than it did. The doors opened, and we walked out to hear Mabel's voice.  
"...Dipper and (y/n) spend a lot of time down here, doing a lot of things."  
"What kind of things?" (Y/n)'s mother was down here with Mabel. We both rolled our eyes and raced towards where it sounded like their voices were coming from.  
"Fixing things our Grunkle Ford made, inventing new machines, and protecting _this."_ We burst through the doors to see (y/n)'s mom holding the rift, delicate in its case. Her mother looked over at us with stern eyes.  
"(Y/n), what is this?"  
"It's a rift, formed by _that_ portal-" (y/n) pointed to the dismantled portal, "-which we've been trying to protect."  
"Why does _this_ need protection?"  
"If it were broken, it would release a horde of demons that would destroy the universe." (Y/n)'s mom began inspecting it, turning it in her hands, when (y/n) reached out. "Mom, put that-" (Y/n)'s mom jerked away from (y/n), when the rift slipped from her hands and shattered to the ground. All eyes went wide as the rift started to grow. "Mom! What have you done?" I had never heard (y/n) so angry before.  
"I-I'm sorry, honey. It was an accident!"  
"No, no! Don't you ' _honey'_ me! You dropped the rift! Now it's only a matter of time before-!"  
"Ahahahahaha!" We all looked behind us to see Bill there, standing in his human form. "Well, well... thank you, Mrs. (l/n). You just did my work for me!"  
"I don't understand!" Mabel cried. "Dipper, (y/n), you patched the rift. Shouldn't it be breakage-proof?"  
"Mabel, the case is still made of glass. It can still shatter easily," I pointed out.  
"Bill, please, don't do this!" (Y/n) pleaded.  
"Sorry, Petals, no can do. There's no Old Man or Sixer to save you now! This time, this dimension is really mine for the taking!" Bill raised his arms, and the sky turned a blood red, and an 'X' ripped itself in the sky, bringing forwards different minions than before. "Now, I think I'll take a prisoner! Let's see eenie... meenie... mieniee... _you_." He pointed to (y/n)'s mother and, using is magic, lifted her up in the air, then knocked her out.  
"Mom! No!"  
"Well, if you really want to try and beat me again, you know where to find me!" He and (y/n)'s mother disappeared in a flash. I looked at (y/n) in shock, and she turned to me with determination and tears in her eyes.  
"How do we get her back?" I smiled at her.


	21. We Need a Plan to Take Him Down

Mabel's P.O.V  
"Mabel, are the weapons still where they were before?" My brother asked me, holding (y/n) close to his chest. I nodded and raced over to a door behind the portal, revealing a room slightly bigger than a closet, filled with weapons. In the very back, a light was focused on the weapon of Bill's destruction. It only had one shot, but I knew that we could do it this time. I grabbed cases of other weapons, and ran out to give those to Dipper and (y/n), then ran back in and grabbed the deadly weapon. I walked out calmly, just to make sure I didn't drop it and waste the last shot. I calmly handed the case to (y/n), who looked down at the case, then up at me.  
"What's this?" She asked, looking at Dipper, then myself.  
"This is the only weapon that can defeat Bill. He took your mother, so we want you to take the final shot at him."  
"Wait, but I don't even know how it works. If I'm going to be the one to kill Bill, I should at least know how the device of his destruction works." Dipper took it from her hands and looked at it, then held it out to (y/n).  
"This device has only one shot, so whatever you do, only touch the trigger when you're positive you can shoot him. Now, do you notice how the scope and the muzzle are shaped like a triangle?" (Y/n) nodded. That means you need Bill to be in his original, triangle form in order to shoot him with this. If he's in human form, it won't kill him. The trigger is down here..." Dipper pointed to the small piece of plastic that signaled the beam should be shot. "Remember to _not touch it_ until you're sure you can shoot him. You have to make sure his whole body is in the triangle, but his little top hat doesn't matter. Did you get all that?" (Y/n) nodded and Dipper handed the weapon back to me. I placed the weapon back in its case and handed it to (y/n). "Now, (y/n), go up and get a bag for you, Mabel, and myself." Without saying anything, (y/n) raced upstairs to grab the bags. Her footsteps thundered above us as Dipper looked at the different weapons I had grabbed.  
"Dipper, I'm sorry. I never should have brought Mrs. (l/n) down here." Dipper looked at me and smiled just a touch.  
"It's all right, Mabel. You didn't know that this would happen. No one could have predicted this." His words weren't very reassuring, but he decided to move on. "How many of these do you know how to use?"  
"Almost all of them. I learned how to use a lot of the weapons while I was in the portal."  
"Mabel..." I looked at him with soft eyes. "What was it like in there?"  
"Everything was dark and desolate. It looked like something from a science fiction movie, and _everything_ and everyone was out to kill you, except for this small group of people."  
"I'm really sorry you ended up there."  
"Hey, now we're even." We both laughed, and then (y/n) came downstairs, carrying three backpacks.   
"Okay, I saw we have one bag for weapons, one bag for medical supplies, and one bag for other items," (y/n) suggested. Dipper smiled at her.   
"All right. You tell us who packs up what."  
"Mabel, you take the weapons." (Y/n) handed me my bright pink backpack. "Dipper, you take care of the miscellaneous items." She gave Dipper his canvas backpack, then kissed him lightly on his cheek. "I'll take care of the medical supplies." Dipper and (y/n) walked off to gather their supplies, while I sat and began loading weapons into my bag, leaving (y/n)'s gun untouched in its case.  
  
Dipper's P.O.V  
I finished packing up the extra supplies, then walked into (y/n)'s room. She sat in the middle of the floor, medical supplies surrounding her. I sat down beside her and smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She smiled at me, but worry filled her eyes.  
"(Y/n), I'm really sorry that this all happened..."  
"It's not your fault, Dipper. We were all shocked at what had just happened. There really was nothing we could have done right at that moment." I kissed her forehead and smiled.   
"I'm glad you're not going crazy about this." I helped her finish putting the supplies in her bag, then we both stood, walking out of her bedroom. Mabel met us by the side door, handing the large weapon case to (y/n).   
"What's the plan?" She asked.  
"We'll take down Bill's minions first, and then we'll get to him. When we get there, Mabel, you focus on rescuing Mrs. (l/n), I'll weaken Bill and get him into his original form, and (y/n), when I give you the signal, you give off the final shot." The girls nodded and I took (y/n)'s hand. Mabel opened the door and we stepped out into the world, shadowed by a sky of blood.


	22. Bill's Minions

Y/n's P.O.V  
I had never seen anything so abnormal and terrifying. Ordinary, inanimate objects were coming to life, and attempting to eat and harm other people. Dipper held onto my hand, reassuring me that he would be right there. We were to go after Bill's minions first, and then go after him. Dipper had told me that the minions were different from before, so they likely had no idea how to defeat these ones. They were all gathered in the center of the town, almost as if they were waiting for us. I took in all of them and gasped in horror. There were only three minions, which meant each of us could take down one, but they were horrible, grotesque, and misshapen, and were seemingly made of multiple, smashed-together parts of other beings, including humans. I turned my head to Dipper, who looked just as shocked as I did. It took him a moment to recollect himself, then he gave orders.  
"Uh... Mabel, you take the one with wings, (y/n), you take the one with three heads, and I'll take the one with ten arms." His voice shook with terror, and I squeezed his hand. He looked at me for a brief moment, and then the three of us split up. I started my demon straight in the face, trying not to show fear.  
"Ooh, more food for me." It's voice was menacing, and ripped through everything. "I wonder which form I should take." The grey creature began changing shapes and forms, almost as if it were made of clay, until it settled on that of a dragon.  
"Hey, guys! My guy's a shape-shifter!" I was terrified out of my mind, but I decided to fight it anyways. I pulled a gun out of the bag, and began firing bullets at its leg. The leg practically flew off, and the beast was brought down to my eye-level. Since the creature was a shape-shifter, it was made from an easily-moldable material. I kicked at it, and it molded to my foot. I reached for a laser gun, loaded the trigger, and blasted at the creature, sending me flying back. I crashed to the ground, almost smashing my head against the solid pavement. I just laid there, assuming I had defeated the creature, staring at the blood red sky. The rip in it glowed many other colors, making everything seem like it were straight out of a movie from the seventies.  
"Uh, (y/n), you might want to stand up!" I shot up so fast that I got a slight head rush, but I knew what I was seeing was not a result of my dizziness. The three minions were slowly inching towards each other, forming one giant, terrifying being. The three heads, glowing eyes, wings, long arms, and deadly nails towered over the three of us.   
"Our weapons aren't going to be able to defeat this thing! We need something stronger." I searched my mind for some sort of alternate strategy, when my tattoo began glowing. An idea popped into my head, and I stood.  
"Dipper, Mabel, I need you to get out of the way! I'm going to try something."  
_Come on, (y/n)... You can do this._ I thought of the creature flying into the air, but when I opened my eyes, it still stood there, swinging at the twins.  
"(Y/n), if you're going to do something, you should start now!" You focused all of your energy on the thought of the creature levitating in the air, and this time when you opened your eyes, the creature was surrounded by a blue glow and was floating in the air.  
"Oh my gosh! It actually worked!"  
"That's great, (y/n), but can we now focus on killing it?" You thought of the creature breaking into millions of pieces, and then those pieces dissolving, and that's exactly what happened. You stood there in shock for a moment, then raced up to Dipper and Mabel. I hugged Mabel lightly, then Dipped grabbed me from the back. I turned around and smiled at him, hugging him tight. He grabbed my waist and spun me around, lifting me in the air, and once he set me down, kissed me passionately.  
"How did you do that?" He asked me, astonished and slightly out of breath.  
"Since I'm part Dream Demon, I figured I could maybe do what Bill could, and sure enough!" Dipper hugged me close again, then let go. The three of us looked over at the floating, ominous pyramid. Mabel pulled a grappling hook out of Dipper's bag, and we all looked at each other. Dipper grabbed onto his sister's and my waists, and she pulled us up to the castle. We stepped inside and I looked at both of them.  
The final confrontation was here.


	23. The Final Confrontation

  
Y/n's P.O.V  
I threw open the doors to the main part of the pyramid castle to find Bill standing there, almost as if he were waiting for us. He was in his human form, but I knew I could find a way to get him to change into a triangle.  
"Bill!" My voice was sharp and loud, almost sounding like I had barked out his name. The menacing character whipped around and smirked at the three of us.  
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Pine Tree, Shooting Star, and my own little minion, Petals. I'm assuming you're here for this." Bill snapped his fingers and pointed to the cage. I followed the line of his fingers to see my mother struggling against the bars, screaming something inaudible.   
"Mom! Don't worry, mom, we're going to get you out of here!" She looked at me, but it seemed like she almost didn't know who I was. I wasn't sure what to think.  
" _We_? Oh, no, no, no, no. This fight is between you and me, Petals." Bill snapped his fingers and the world around us froze, with the exception on Bill and myself. Fear ripped through me as I looked at the frozen figures of Dipper and Mabel. They had devised their own plans on how they were going to free my mother and defeat Bill, and now all of that was thrown out the window. I would have to improvise the whole fight.  
"You're right, Bill, this _is_ between you and me. You're the one who messed up my life ever since we made that deal, and now I'm going to take you down once and for all."  
"Do you think defeating me will get rid of what I've done to you? You're stuck with this for the rest of your lie, Petals." He seemed amused at my ignorance.  
"Then this will be revenge for everything that's happened all these years." I lunged at him and tackled him to the ground, pinning him beneath me. I freed one arm and punched him square in the face, but it seemed to do almost nothing. He smirked at me and used his abilities to immobilize me, then lift me up, leaving me open for him to attack. He punched me in the gut, then slapped me across the face multiple times, then swept under my legs, knocking me to the floor once again. Bill stood over me and cackled, thinking he had won.  
"Oh, sweet, naïeve Petals. You fell into my trap right from the start."  
"What are you talking about?" I gasped out.  
"You saw the way Pine Tree would have died a few days ago! You could have stopped it without having to become one of us! You're so stupid! Now, even if you defeat me, you'll get taken away, too."  
"W-what?" I was confused and terrified.  
"You're part Dream Demon. Everything associated with that realm will get sucked back in, and that includes you!" Although I was afraid of being separated from Dipper, Mabel, and my mother, I needed to defeat Bill and make sure he was no longer a threat.  
"That doesn't matter. I'll enjoy defeating you." I used my own powers to free myself, then blast Bill back against the wall. He seemed shocked that I had figured out how to use my powers. I lifted up some fallen rocks and shot them at Bill. He was able to dodge two of them, but the third one nailed him straight in the chest. He coughed, seeming weak, and I seized the opportunity to charge at him. I punched and kicked over and over again, and eventually, Bill fell to the ground, unable to move. Remembering what I needed to do, I ran over to the gun and pulled it out of its case. Using my powers, I changed him back into his triangle form, then aimed the gun so it was perfectly lined up. He looked at me, stunned.  
"Are you really going to do this, Petals?" I smirked at him. "You're just going to get dragged into the Nightmare Realm."  
"If I'm going to Hell, I might as well drag you to Hell with me." I blasted him, and with a final scream, he exploded into millions of pieces. The world unfroze, but the wind began picking up, and I knew what was happening. Dipper and Mabel looked at me and started to race over to me, but I stopped them by holding out my hand.  
"Mabel, go free my mother from the cage." Mabel looked at me in shock for a moment, then did as I said. Dipper looked at me with shimmering eyes.  
"(Y/n), what's wrong?" I sighed and tried to smile at him.  
"I'm getting sucked into the Nightmare Realm because I'm part Dream Demon."  
"What? No, you can't..." I could feel the pull calling me, but I tried to hold on as long as I could. I walked up to Dipper and cupped his cheek.  
"I have to." He took my hand and held it in his. "Dipper, I love you so much. You changed my life. You accepted me here, and helped me with everything." Without saying another word, Dipper kissed me on the lips, hard and passionately. I pushed away from him as I began to evaporate into the realm. I said one last thing before I was transported into the realm.  
_"There's always a way to get back a Dream Demon."_


	24. Inside and Outside the Nightmare Realm

Second P.O.V  
You could understand why Bill wanted to stay in your realm so bad. This place was as boring as it could get. Despite the fact that the tear in the sky was rainbow colored, the actual realm was grey and dark. You had warped into another form now, looking more menacing than you ever had before. You looked like Bill in his human form, but your skin was grey and your dress and hair were blue. You sat, tossing your cane back and forth, then slamming it on the ground. There was almost nothing to do here, except watch over the people in the real world. Sadly, you were no longer connected to anyone in the real world, you had no one to watch over. You sat and wondered how Dipper and Mabel were doing, and whether your mother had gone home or not. Did anyone even care that you were gone, or did everyone just move on with their lives. In reality, only Dipper, Mabel, and Pacifica had known you existed, but if they had decided to move on, it would sting more than any pain you had ever felt. You wondered if your mother was still grieving, or if she had finally moved on.  
  
  
"Mabel, please just grab me the journal and hurry up. We're going to summon her today." Mabel raced up the stairs as Dipper paced back and forth. Your mother sat on the yellow chair, watching the young boy pace back and forth.  
"How are you sure that she will come back after you summon her?" Dipper looked at your mother with a slight glare in his eyes.  
"She's only part Dream Demon. There's enough human in here that she should be allowed to come back." Mabel raced back down the steps, practically throwing the journal into her twin brother's hands. He took it and flipped to the page about Bill, showing the chant to only summon him, not go into someone else's mind. Dipper, Mabel, and Mrs. (l/n) all placed one hand together in a circle, and Dipper began chanting the cryptic message.  
" Egassem sdrawkcab. egassem sdrawkcab. Egassem sdrawkcab! Egassem sdrawkcab! Egassem sdrawkcab!" The whole world went grey-scale and froze for a moment, then there was a bright blue flash, and when all had faded, the trio opened their eyes and looked at what stood before them. Dipper stared in shock for a moment, then raced over and picked you up in his arms and spun you around. He looked you in your brilliant (e/c) eyes, smiling brighter than he ever had. You looked at your arms against his shoulders, and noticed that they were back to their old color. You sighed, realizing you were back to normal.  
"Am I here to stay?" You asked, feeling tears welling your eyes.  
"I summoned you back here. As long as you don't cause any trouble, you're back in Gravity Falls." You hugged him tight, missing the embrace of a person. Before Dipper could kiss you, Mabel practically ripped you out of her brother's arms and hugged you against her chest.  
"(Y/n), (y/n), (y/n)! I thought you would never come back! I got so scared I lost you forever." Mabel finally let go of you and you smiled at her.  
"Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you again." Mabel pulled away and you looked face-to-face with your mother. At first, she looked angry that you were standing there, but tears began welling in her eyes, and she soon ran up and embraced you.  
"Oh, my baby... I missed you so much. I love you so much."  
"Mom... please tell me you think I'm capable of handling myself now..." She looked at you and smiled.  
"You are more than capable." She hugged you again and smiled. "I love you so much, baby." Your mother let go of you again and you looked at Dipper. You walked over to him and smiled.  
"Do I finally get that kiss now?" You chuckled and drew his face closer to yours and placed your lips on his, sweet and loving. There was nothing more you wanted than what you had right here, right now.  
Your life was perfect.


	25. Epilogue (6 Years Later)

Y/n's P.O.V.  
I looked up and smiled as the stars twinkled, cemented in place. They all glowed, almost as if they were from another world. I sighed and relaxed into one of the two lounge chairs that rested up on the small part of the roof where, even after all these years, Dipper and I would go up to the roof and watch the stars, talking for hours. I looked down at my fingers and smiled to admire the sparkling diamond ring on my left finger. It would still be a few more months until the wedding, but Dipper and I had already planned everything out and ready for when the day came. I started thinking about Dipper, and as if he could read my thoughts, I heard the trap door open, and I turned around to see the wonderful man with the goofy smile.  
"I thought I might find you up here." His smile shone brighter than the full moon that was out tonight.  
"I was just up here... thinking." Dipper sat down in the other chair and took my hand, running his soft fingers along the stone of the ring he had given you.  
"About what?" I sighed contently.  
"What would have happened if I had listened to my mother and stayed where I lived before."  
"Would you have... liked your life better if that were the case?" I chuckled at how nervous he seemed to get.  
"Of course not. I would have been doing some job that I would have hated, and I'd be around people that didn't like or really even know. Here, I found two people that love and care about me, and someone who, I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams, is becoming my husband." I chuckled at the thought of it, words unable to describe how happy the thought was.  
"(Y/n) Pines... I like the sound of it. It's just as beautiful as you." I giggled and blushed at the compliment. "After all these years, you still freak out whenever I show you affection."  
"It's just so hard to believe that I found someone so amazing." A thought popped into my head and I turned to face Dipper. "Oh, my mom and dad are coming into town in a month, and they're bringing the tickets to France."  
"It was really sweet of your parents to pay for our Honeymoon."  
"Considering they paid for most of the wedding, I do feel a little guilty."  
"Clearly they'll do anything for their little girl." We both exploded into a fit of laughter, and after it died down, I let out a loud yawn. Dipper smiled and walked over, picking me up bridal style.  
"What are you doing?" I didn't say I didn't like it.  
"You yawned. You're clearly tired." He kissed my forehead. "Let's get some sleep." He put me down so we could climb down the ladder. We both walked into what used to just be my room, but we now shared, quickly changed, and climbed into bed. I almost fell asleep, when Dipper rolled over and faced me.  
"Hey, (y/n)?"  
"Yeah, what's up?"  
"I love you." You smiled and kissed his cheek.  
"I love you, too." He wrapped his arms around you and you both fell asleep.  
Everything was perfect.


End file.
